Should HPV Vaccine Be Mandatory?

States Consider That Idea, Some Parents Worry Requirement Could Send Wrong Message

(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.

[ecuadoriana]

Jamesnavia wrote: "My problem is not the 'you assume that my child is sexually active' part of all of this...[but] the government trying to force a vaccine into my daughter...and the lack of a long-term study of side effects."

That's my point as well. Any time the government comes up with a brilliant "new improved plan" for my health or my family's, I'm extremely wary.

It's hard to trust a government that approved DES, allowed the promotion of cigarettes as being safe, allows billions of tons of chemicals to be dumped into the environment, forced sterilization on black girls & radiation testing on children...The goes on w/the atrocities our government has sanctioned.

There needs to be more investigation into this vacine, it should NOT be mandatory (NO vacine should be- what happened to "freedom of choice"?!) Parents shouldn't BLINDLY allow their child to have ANY chemical injected into their child. By allowing the government to make decisions about your child's s**ual health you're giving up your right as a parent to set the guidelines in your home for what is acceptable behaviour.

This is up there w/laws saying you can't spank your child- it's the systematic take over of your job as a parent to raise your child in your own home. What next an anti-communist style- "Hey kids turn your parents in for not getting you vacinated, win a trip to Disneyland!"

[adventurepa]

This vaccine is the best protection available against HPV. It would be stupid not to require every women to get the shot.

When will they have a shot available for men?

If you think your little princess doesn't talk or fool around by 5th, 6th or 7th grade, you are mistaken and nieve. Do the right thing and protect them.
If they get raped by someone and contract HPV you will have missed the chance to protect them.
The bad thing is a man can be a carrier of the disease and not show signs but still pass it on.
Just like venereal warts. Same goes for women, except it will show in a pap.
If you cannot bring yourself to help your child in such a way, you are an unfit parent.
It's just a matter of time before they discover the joys of the discovery channel. So do the right thing.

[younmm23]

Seriously, parents, if you aren't educating your children about *** by 5th grade, you are just setting your children up for disaster. You'd be amazed by how much they hear through the grapevine about *** just at school, and it is your job to tell the story before they start having ***. My parents told us about *** in 3rd grade, just the basics, and said that just like you can get a cold or the flu from someone coughing on you, there are special sicknesses you can get from having ***. It isn't too soon to tell your child about ***. Of course, it isn't just one talk, its a series of age adjusted talks. They don't turn your child into some *** fiend, the talks turn your child into an educated human being. And stop pretending like you are skipping the talk for their own good. You are skipping the talk because it is too awkward for YOU.

Besides, parents, your child already gets the Hepatitis B vaccine as a part of their vaccine load, and guess what! its a STD! Yes, thats right, you can get it through ***. Just because it affects the liver, not the genitals, doesn't mean it isn't transmitted sexually. Would you deny your child the HIV vaccine when it finally gets developed? Would you tell your child, "nope, sorry, having the *** talk was too awkward for me so instead of telling you about *** and giving you these life-saving vaccines I just skipped the whole thing and now you're gonna die."

[lindseym04]

in regards to what Free_Citizen said...our grandparents did have this problem...it was just recenetly discovered that cervical cancer is caused by a virus which is what HPV is..its a virus. If you look up the rates of Cerivcal cancer now versus 10 or even 20 years ago the medical community has made great strides in decreasing those numbers. And on another note HPV is not just transmitted through unhealthy sexual practices when you can read about how even with the use of condoms you can contract HPV because it is a virus just like any other virus except its transmited by any contact with genital parts.

[Free Citizen]

Debate as much as you want. One thing is fact; this HPV disease is only transmitted through unhealthy sexual practices or behavior. It says a lot about how society has degraded to the extent that a vaccination for it is required. I am sure the generation of our grandparents never had this problem. At least not serious enough to consider a need to remedy it.

[jamesnavia]

My problem is not the "you assume that my child is sexually active" part of all of this. My problem is the government trying to force a vaccine into my daughter that does not fully protect against HPV (only certain types) and the lack of a long-term study of side effects. They didn't know about the problems with DES (vaginal cancer) until after it was widely administered for almost 40 years. I'm not saying wait 40 years to test the vaccine, but I would think at least 10 - 20 before forcing it on people by law.

[tmkgls]

I agree that HPV is a serious issue. We now are told that there is a vaccine that covers most of the cancer that HPV can cause. However, it is a new vaccine and has only been tested for five years.

I have to agree with katia327 that five years really isn't a long enough time to say that it is safe to get. Just like the Vioxx case and others like it, how do we know that 10 or 20 years or so down the road some awful side effect will not show up such as infertility?

I believe it is way too early to be using this vaccine and the government SHOULD keep their noses out of it. It appears that the government is trying to get more and more control every day over all of us. Our freedoms stated in the Constitution and the first Ten Amendments are slowly disappearing. This vaccine should NOT be forced upon us and more testing NEEDS to be done before it being released to the public.

In the meantime we should make sure to get pap smears and teach our children (rather than just the schools doing it) about *** and its consequences.

[lindseym04]

My advice for most people that have posted on this board to please do research into what HPV really is...most of you apparently don't understand all the sides of HPV...its the people that don't know what they are talking about that aren't going to save your daughters from the pain of possibly having cervical cancer!

[lindseym04]

Another comment to the person that said "what about condems" if you do your research HPV can still be passed even if you are using condoms.

[lindseym04]

I am 24 years old and recently had an abnormal pap result come back. I had a leep done to remove the abnormal cells and one month later I appear to be clear.I will continued to be monitored for years. I had never had anything abnormal come back over the last 5 years then out of no where this comes up. It was amazing to me how many girls my age go through this. I know a few friends perosnally that are dealing with this and I found some great groups on myspace.com and facebook.com. You never realize how many people are going through what you are going through until you look into it. My mother being a RN for longer than I have been around has told me I will be getting the shot. Even though I older and do have a certain strain of HPV the shot can help against other strain. I know if this would have been available when I was young my mother would have made me get it. Its very important that young girls get this shot. Whether the parents want them to be sexually active or not they are going to do it if they want to. And I have to agree with the lady that made the comment about the price $360 is nothing compared to what I am looking at with only the few procedures I have had to do...I couldn't imagine what it would be if my case was worse.