Keisha Bates
Kaitlyn O’Bryan
Commenters: Mara B, Jessica J, Marlene K, Karin L, Natalie O, Rachel S, JaNaye S
Should the HPV Vaccine be Made a Mandatory Part of Children’s Vaccine Protocol?
By age 50, 80% of U.S. women have contracted at least one type of human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer. About 300,000 women worldwide die annually from cervical cancer, and the American Cancer Society estimates that about 3,700 women die of the disease each year in the United States. GlaxoSmithKline and Merck have developed and received regulatory approval for vaccines that are generally accepted to be effective against the most dangerous strains of HPV (those responsible for about 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer). Because no vaccine exists to protect women who have already been exposed to HPV and because many people contract the virus the first time they have sexual intercourse, Merck and GSK emphasize that the vaccines must be given before sexual debut to be effective. More than 19 state legislatures have introduced bills mandating vaccination for students; Merck recommends the vaccine be given to all 12-year-old children before they can enter school, and GSK recommends its HPV vaccine for girls as young as age 10. Recently, however, Merck has asked the FDA to approve the vaccine for males ages 9 to 26, citing its efficacy in preventing the spread of genital warts. Opponents claim that making such a vaccine a regular part of children’s vaccine protocol would encourage young women to be more sexually active and raise concerns about cost-effectiveness. Women’s health advocates are urging that it become part of the regimen of pre-puberty vaccines, since HPV is spread primarily through sexual contact.