Should HPV Vaccine Be Mandatory?

(CBS)  It may seem premature for Kelley Ellsworth to even think about anything that has to do with sex, when it comes to her kids. Her daughter Kira is only in fifth grade.

But she and her friends may be among the first students required by law to get vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease, one that can cause cervical cancer. CBS News correspondent Sharyl Atkisson reports.


"It makes sense to get this done. I guess it's only a question of what the timing is," says Ellsworth.

The vaccine is Gardasil. You may have seen ads for it on television ("You could be one less). It can prevent human papilloma virus, known as HPV, and it's approved for girls as young as 9.

About 6 million Americans get HPV every year, and more than 10,000 end up with cervical cancer.

"If you are sexually active, in a pretty short period of time your chances of getting exposed to this virus are pretty high. So the goal was to recommended its use in younger teens or preteens," says Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Washington, D.C., where Kira lives, may soon add the HPV vaccine to the list of necessary school shots - starting with girls entering 6th grade. Until now, vaccines were only mandated for diseases spread through things like coughs and runny noses. This would be the first required for a disease only spread through sexual contact.

"That's your daughter, that should be a decision that the parents should make," said Lisa Dickson, a mother.

"It's a little tricky that this a cancer connected to sexuality, it makes it more complicated," said Ellsworth.

Parents would be able to "opt out" of the shots. Some worry it's too early to be addressing sexually transmitted diseases with their daughters. Others say the vaccine could be seen as a license to have sex.

But D.C. councilman David Catania dismisses all that. He's sponsoring the vaccine bill.

"The legislation doesn't require that the conversation about the vaccine, center on why you are receiving the vaccine. As I've said before, this vaccine no more encourages sexual activity than a tetanus shot encourages you to step on a rusty nail," says Catania.

It's an especially important issue in Washington, D.C., which has the highest cervical cancer rate in the United States.

At least 11 states are considering similar laws including California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Washinton, D.C., and Maryland.

But there are caveats. Merck, the makers of Gardasil, says it's 98 percent effective, but only against certain kinds of HPV, and women studied were only followed for five years.

Because the new vaccine is so new, moms like Carla Hillery are wary.

"I would like to wait awhile and see if there are any side effects, you know, it was a new vaccine," she said.

For her part, Kelley Ellsworth has decided on balance, it's best that her daughter go ahead and get the shot.

"They get sex education in the 5th grade anyway, so it's not like they've never heard of sex," she said.

The series of shots cost $360, and are covered by most health plans.

[calgurley]

Where is my comment?

[calgurley]

Adventurepa...you are not qualify to stated that this vaccine is the best protection...it hasn't been proven so. You should stop...this stupidity....Miamimama just a vaccine...have you witness the production of this vaccine...can you tell us what went-in to make this vaccine? Tell me what you know...NOT WHAT SOMEONE TOLD YOU!!! AS FOR CATANIA...he needs to stick with MEN issues. Not one Councilwoman is on the forefront to mandate this vaccine for little girls....Councilmembers..CATANIA AND JIM GRAHAM are both hypocrites...there is a serious HIV-Aids epidemic in the District and not one of them have sounded the alarm...not one have acted to inform or warn the residents to at least encourage them to change their behavior...D.C. residents you are on your own...no protection or care from this Wicked City Council...WASA distributed the wrong lead test package to D.C. residents that deceitfully gave the wrong result...That no lead was in the water tested. EPA fined WASA...what have Catania and Jim Graham do...nothing. Catania or Jim Graham or this Wicked City Council have not jumped-on WASA about this deceptive trick played on D.C. residents. The Council members don't care that D.C. residents are played as FOOLS by big business.

[baye13]

I didn't know S-E-X was such an offensive word it had to be censored! No wonder parents can talk to their kids about ***. There not even allowed to read it on the net!!!

[nomorems-2009]

I USED TO HAVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. If it wasn't for educating myself about what is real and not real, I would be in a real wheel chair today. I was completely cured in 3 1/2 months! I got rid of everything that wasn't real in my diet, my home, and my doctor's office had to go too! Yes, I used specific certified organic natural supplements including the only certified organic powdered minerals on the planet and I drank pure water! These saved my quality of life and thousands of others! I don't have pHD or MD after my name but I figured it out! My neurologist wanted me to take a daily shot that cost $1400 a month that no one else got well from! Vaccines ARE poison. It's proven! Do your research on google, mercola.com! Teach your children how to eat organic food and buy natural cosmetics. Get the chemicals out of your home, air fresheners, perfumes, soaps/shampoos with sodium laurel sulfate and propyene glycol. Drink purified water and get sunshine! We must teach our children! Cancer is caused by our environment. What we inhale, what we eat, and what we put on our skin! Use real, be real, eat real, live real!

[carol991-2009]

I think its important to safe guard our young girls against cervical cancer, however is this vaccination safe? To the best of my knowledge, this vaccination hasnt been tested on young girls, only on women and only for 5 years. What are the long term consequences? Before I made a decision that could potentially alter my daughters life, I would want to make sure that the benefits outweight the risks.

[jpurc361]

Do you deny your children the Polio vaccine or the MMR vaccine? I'm sure there were narrow minded people back then to who didn't get the Polio vaccine for their children they didn't live long enough to decide for themselves. If you think you can protect your children against this virus by not educating and vaccinating them, more power to you. There are some people out there who think that if I tell my children not to have *** then they won't. It's not just a matter of children having ***, this protects them for their entire lives, it's given BEFORE they've been exposed to the virus not after. If there was a vaccination to prevent MS wouldn't you want it? We would tell our kids that they need this shot so that they don't develop MS when they are older and they would understand. If you are too ashamed to tell your children the truth about this vaccine then tell them this is a vaccine against one type of cancer. After all that is the truth too.

[maelstorm1]

I agree that HPV is a growing concern. However, I do not believe the pharmaceutical profiteers or American government have the public's welfare at heart. This attempt to force hpv vaccination down the throats of American women (and their daughters) is just the most recent intrusion of the government (at the behest of pharma lobbyists) on what should be a personal decision-- all in an effort to make money.

If the government cared about the American public we would not be eating genetically modified food, giving our babies antibiotic-laced milk, or preparing to eat meat from cloned animals.

[ecuadoriana]

"STOP BEING PRUDENT AND GET THE SHOT. YOU'LL THANK ME WHEN YOU'RE OLDER...
Posted by GEN-SIMONE at 10:58 AM : Jan 22, 2007"

Hmmm... I've made it almost 50yrs old & haven't had to "thank you" yet. Smells to me like you work for the drug companies that are pushing this drug. It also smells to me like you had way too much s**ual activity when you were younger & you are now worried about some of those "Coyote Mornings." Well, don't try to use your own indiscretions as a warning to me or others to force another chemical into us.

btljce got it right when he/she posted: "The country overflowing with drugs has the highest number of "sick" people in the world..."

[gen-simone]

FOR THOSE WHO OBVIOUSLY KNOW VERY LITTLE OR NOTHING ABOUT THIS VIRUS, IT IS VERY EASY TO CONTRACT. YOU TOUCH AN AREA WITH THIS VIRUS, AND THEN NOT WASH YOUR HANDS PROPPERLY, YOU SPREAD IT. CONDOMS DON'T ALWAYS PROTECT YOU FROM IT. THIS VIRUS IS MUCH LIKE HERPIES IN THAT IT IS NOT JUST FOCUSED ON GENITALS BUT TRANSMITED ORALLY TOO. STOP BEING PRUDENT AND GET THE SHOT. YOU'LL THANK ME WHEN YOU'RE OLDER...

[btljce]

This is another instance of the government making a deal with the devil. The devil being Merck who makes the drug.
Merck "endorsed" politicians pushing this drug onto American citizens through law are the worst kind of drug pusher who's goal is to get us addicted to the "legal" drugs.
Using the American Cancer Society to "scare" us is just one of their underhanded ways to get us into their customer base.
These drug companies use reputable organizations and paid off politicians to get us as citizens dependant on them to keep the money flowing their way.
The country overflowing with drugs has the highest number of "sick" people in the world. Every year more "syndromes and diseases" are invented or made up by drug companies so they can make more drugs which make them even more money.
Get greedy, lowlife politicians to pass laws to force us to take their potions to guarantee income and you've got the #1 nation in the world controlled by drug companies.
Islamic terrorists are NOT our worst enemy.