| Mandating HPV vaccinations for all girls is one step too far |
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| Written by Christopher Stryker | |
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Modern medicine is a wonderful thing; new advances are constantly giving us the opportunity to live longer, fuller lives. One of these advances is Gardasil, a vaccine for women that claims to prevent the two strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer, and also protects against the two strains that cause 90 percent of genital warts. For those unfamiliar with HPV, it’s a sexually transmitted disease that is widespread in our society today. While there are only two strains known to cause cervical cancer, there are other strains that are responsible for genital warts. In women, the only way to diagnose it is from the presence of growths or abnormal pap smears. For men, there is no test. If they develop warts they clearly have it; otherwise they might still have it and must waait to see if their female partners start testing positive for it. Also, condoms have only been proven marginally effective against its transmission. It’s a nasty bug, have no doubt.  It’s been estimated that nearly 80 percent of women will have acquired at least one strain of it by the time they reach age 50. Other studies among sexually active college students have put the infection rate nearly that high before graduation. Gardasil has the potential to change those numbers drastically, so to many it’s been perceived as a godsend.My initial reaction to news of Gardasil’s development was very positive. I still think it has amazing potential, and I think that women should strongly consider getting it if they are at even the slightest risk. My impression soured, however, when I heard that the governor of Texas has declared that all girls must receive it before entering the sixth grade in September 2008. I’m not against compulsory vaccinations. Vaccinations against polio, measles, mumps, diphtheria, meningitis, hepatitis and a host of others have eliminated many childhood diseases. In the case of many of these vaccines (not including HPV), most states require children to receive the vaccines before entering school. Most of the diseases (again, not including HPV) can be transmitted by day to day activities, making the risk of infection very high. What makes Gardasil different? First of all, it’s a very new product. Developed by Merck and Co., it only received FDA approval in June of 2006; that’s less than a year. I know of other products, such as Vioxx (another Merck product), that received FDA approval and seemed to be wonderful. Then, within the years following their release, originally unnoticed side effects suddenly started appearing causing them to be withdrawn from the market. How do we know Gardasil won’t fall under this category? Taking the risk on your own is one thing, but having it mandated by the government is entirely different. The method of communication of HPV is also drastically different than the diseases which most required vaccines protect against. You can get hepatitis by simply eating at a restaurant where the person preparing your food hasn’t washed their hands thoroughly. That makes exposure hard to avoid. With HPV, however, there is only one method of communication: sex. That’s a situation that you willingly put yourself in, and you should know all of the potential pitfalls in advance. If, knowing the potential of contracting HPV, a woman wishes to not be vaccinated, that should be her prerogative. Finally, Gardasil is one of the most expensive vaccines ever produced. At $360 for the three shot regiment, many doctors across the country are unable to provide it. Insurance companies have been slow to pick up the extra tab and most patients have been unable to afford the expense. I have yet to see any plans for how the state of Texas will be financing this plan, but I can see it getting very expensive, very quickly. It’s not that I have a problem with Gardasil, as a drug. I’m glad to see it, and I hope it will help make our society a better place. It’s just when it starts getting mandated that I start wincing. It’s too early in the product’s life cycle and the method of communication is far too narrow to merit requiring girls to receive it. |
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