You’ve probably heard a lot about the Texas governor signing an executive order, making it required for all girls in Texas to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine Gardasil before entering sixth grade. The controversy surrounding it has spread to other states, and now a state representative in Ohio is proposing that Ohio follow the lead of Texas and require the vaccine for all girls here as well.
At our monthly Moms Night Out dinner, we discussed the issues surrounding this. I gave my opinion right up front: I’m completely, totally against any state legislation requiring this vaccine. The others seemed surprised by my answer, but I assured them it wasn’t based on moral issues.
I have no moral objections against this vaccine. The idea that it would encourage girls to become sexually active younger or would make it more likely for girls to practice unsafe sex is ridiculous to me. If I’m vaccinated against Hepatitis B, does that make me more likely to share needles with drug users? The threat of a relatively minor STD (yes, some strains lead to cancer, but young girls really don’t think about getting cancer) isn’t enough to scare a girl away from sex if she really wants to do it, especially when condoms are available. I think pregnancy would be more of a fear than HPV.
My objections with Gardasil mainly involve the rush this vaccine went through to get to market quickly, and the questionable ties being made between Merck, the vaccine manufacturer, and politicians.
Don’t get me wrong: A vaccine against the types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer is a great thing. Cervical cancer affects a relatively small number of women each year, far, far less than breast cancer, although it’s devastating if you happen to be one of those women.
However, the Gardasil commercials would lead you to believe that every woman who contracts HPV has a high chance of developing cervical cancer. There are over one hundred different strains of HPV – only a couple of them have been shown to have a connection with cervical cancer. So while this vaccine is a good thing, your actual chances of ever developing cervical cancer are small. Slightly better odds than winning the lottery, but far more likely to die from another cancer, heart disease, or just be killed in an accident.
The problem is once this vaccine was created, it was rushed out to market. No long term studies have been conducted to see if the vaccine’s effectiveness wanes after five years. Which means if the vaccine is given to girls entering sixth grade, roughly 11 years old, they could have no immunity to HPV by the time they are 16, an age when more girls are likely to become sexually active. And little research has been done to look for long-term side effects that may not appear until long after the vaccine is given.
Side note: the chicken pox vaccine, once thought to be a one-time shot, is already going down this path. It’s possible that boosters are required, although it was not known at the time it hit the market. Meaning some who are vaccinated as children may be immune as children, but then contract chicken pox as adults, when the virus is deadlier, especially to the fetus of a pregnant woman. Makes me think it’s better to go through the uncomfortable, yet mostly harmless, virus as a child, than take risks of becoming very ill as an adult.
The money issue can’t be ignored, either. Many already know the Texas governor had ties to Merck – ties involving a lot of money. But the millions of dollars Merck is throwing at states to convince them to make this vaccine mandatory, along with the millions put into advertising to convince the public that this is a necessary vaccine are important, too. Merck stands to make billions off of this vaccine, so of course they are pulling out every scare tactic possible to sway the public to their side. It’s the most expensive vaccine out there right now: $360, which isn’t covered by all insurances. States who make it mandatory would likely pick up the tab for the uninsured. Now multiple $360 times every girl entering sixth grade in several states, and you can see the incredible profit coming from this year after year.
As I said, I think the vaccine is a good thing. Yes, they are trying to make the largest profits they can, but Merck is a medical research organization that helps in finding new drugs to make us a healthier society. But the research for this particular immunization is not complete, and certainly not enough to warrant mandatory vaccination. At the moment, studies on Gardasil should continue, and the issue of whether or not to use the vaccine should be left to a patient and her doctor to decide together.
I went through my own cervical cancer scare when I was in my early 20’s. I had to undergo a biopsy, wait for results (which resulted in inconclusive abnormal cells, possibly pre-cancerous), and go for follow up checks every three months for over a year to make sure I was in the clear. It was a frightening process to be faced with the possibility of cancer while I was so young, and to come to terms with the fact that I might be unable to have children if cancerous cells did develop.
Would I have taken the vaccine if it was available then? Probably not, because I never thought I’d contract HPV, considered the number of sexual partners I’d had could be counted on one hand, and the hand of a shop instructor missing a few fingers at that.
Is it something I want my daughters to have at 11 years old? No way, or at least not until it has been thoroughly studied, which it may be by then. If not, I’ll rely on the old-fashioned method of keeping them safe: actually talking with them about sex and protecting themselves, and working to keep an open dialogue so they feel comfortable coming to me with questions.
There’s a ton of facts out there about Gardasil, HPV, and cervical cancer, far more than I have time to link to here with a toddler begging me for a banana. Luckily, Julie summed it up very well, so I’ll send you over to read what she had to say.
I agree that new vaccines shouldn’t be REQUIRED. There should be a ten year voluntary immunizations and then a reevaluation. Plus, requiring vaccines is a touchy subject on many levels.
Oooooh, a few of my hot-buttons all pressed into one!
I did medical research for a major drug company. I left after I discovered quite a lot of fudging data. I didn’t want to be part of lies. Thus, I do not trust the “studies” that accompany vaccines when they are first put on the market. Let time tell the true story.
And then, there are those issues of what the vaccines are made of. Some may say that vaccines don’t cause neurological damage and that those who claim autism (or other conditions) are a result of vaccines are “stupid,” but I am pretty convinced that genetically susceptible individuals can have quite nasty results from the toxins in vaccines.
However, I do understand the need for vaccines, and the concept of herd-immunity. Thus, my children are vaccinated. But, I don’t give my sons things like flu shots and I would be skeptical of having them try a new vaccine.
Oooh I agree! I also hate the fact that some politician can tell someone what to do with their body. That’s wrong, and not very democratic at all. I agree that parents need to educate their children, not rely on a government with a blanket policy.
I’m totally with you on this, Christina! Hear, hear. I’m so bummed I missed the girls night out, I would have loved a debate on this. There isn’t enough research complete on this vaccination to guarantee there are no long term effects.
I agree with you 100%. I have known several people personally who have contracted chicken pox AFTER having been vaccinated. Ironically, I have had many students in my classes throughout the years whose parents had “opted out” of vaccinations for diseases posing a far greater risk to the general public than HPV. This is such a polically (and money) driven issue.
Well said. I couldn’t agree more. My best friend lives in Texas and is outraged about the bill. Her kids are home-schooled though so hopefully her daughters won’t have to get it.
Well stated, Christina, and I am SO GLAD you weighed in with your opinion. We need to get talking intelligently about this, and not just knee-jerk into a decision.
I’m not just opposed to requiring the vaccine, I’m opposed to the age they want to require it at, especially because both HPV vaccines on the market last ONLY four years.
You don’t hear that advertised, do you?
(And oh oh oh get me going about the chicken pox vaccine! But that was my first required vaccine rant post.)
There are potential benefits here, but oh so much information that is mistaken or lacking.
Not the least of which is that there is no FACTUAl direct cause between HPV and cervical cancer. Some people with HPV type 16 or 18 do NOT develop cervical cancer (and keep in mind it is usually 20 years for any symptoms) and some people who are negative for HPV DO develop cervical cancer.
I just hope people keep up the other precautions even if they get the vaccine.
Like you, I’m not opposed to the vaccine. I’m opposed to having my choice ENTIRELY removed: whether I get it for my girls and when I get it for my girls.
And I’m opposed to the methods the companies’ are using to take these vaccines to market.
You all hit the nail on the head. While the idea seems hard to argue with, if you take a second look this vaccine is new and not very much is known about it. So I think if parents choose to get their daughters vaccinated – that’s great; it’s their choice. But mandating it at this point gives me a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s too fast.
Besides, the majority of vaccinations that are now required by most school systems pertain to viruses that are highly contagious – airborn and through direct contact. If children weren’t vaccinated against these viruses they would spread like wildfire through schools. This is not the case here, and like you said, the statistics don’t show an overwhelming number of women getting cancer from HPV. It’s a possibility, but I don’t think the numbers support a mandatory vaccination.
Great post, Christina.
I asked a lot of questions before I had my baby vaccinated for chicken pox and the whole “wearing off” issue is moot because they are basically giving the child the chicken pox (As I was told). If you have an ‘official’ case of the chicken pox you can still contract a ‘wild’ strain as an adult- same odds as people that have had the vaccine. My daughter wasn’t vaccinated because the shots weren’t available when she was getting her boosters and she contracted chicken pox over christmas. My son has been vaccinated and he was fine. I wish I had gotten her vaccinated, she was in agony.
Cervical cancer isn’t contagious to the community at large(unless you are a seriously promiscuous 10 yr old, and then you have bigger problems)that would cause it to spread to epidemic proportions… so the idea of having to be vaccinated for it is silly.
Just had to add my two cents
Thanks for the info, Christina.
I personally agree with vaccinations, but I also agree this one shouldn’t be mandatory. I would find it hard to believe if that bill actually passes in Texas.
Pattie, it wasn’t a bill. It was an Executive Order by the Governor. It’s a done deal. Reps have objected, as has the public, but Perry will not back down.
And Texas is now not the only state to pass it. It was on the table for almost half the states, and now VA will pass its own mandate:
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday he would sign legislation requiring all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
Virginia would become the second state to mandate the vaccine for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, and the first to do it through legislative action. Texas Gov. Rick Perry sidestepped the Legislature and ordered the shots for girls there, but lawmakers are considering overriding that order.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4595204.html
Story from Mar 1.
Christina, on my blog right now I’ve asked for people to let me know if they woudl participate in a link list of posts and info about HPV. Can I include this post? Pretty please? Sugar on top?
Let me know. Thanks!
Wow. Just wow. This is wrong on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin.
What’s next? Mandatory stomach stapling for the obese, because being obese is not healthy.
Mandatory IUD’s for young teens so we don’t have to worry about more children born to children? And on and on and on.
Not exactly in the same vein of mandatory vaccine, but once you open the door….
You make a great point about the Merck ties and rush to approval. I too had the same scare in my early 20s, back when people didn’t talk about such things and I thought it was a freak thing unique to me. However if it is proven that this is indeed a good thing, I have no issues with heading off cancer the way we do small pox and even the flu.
Vaccines aren’t all bad. Chicken pox can be deadly, even though people think it’s just a little rash. That said, I don’t think it’s a good idea to require this new vaccine. It seems too money-driven. Also, it’s sexist. Wouldn’t boys carry the virus, too? (Would vaccinating them help? I’m not an expert, but it makes sense.)
Ohio recently had an issue on the ballot to make a constitutional amendment to ban smoking in certain places. I was against it. I’m anti-smoking, but a constitutional amendment is overkill.
Great post.
I couldn’t agree with you more. This vaccine should NOT be required. There hasn’t been enough testing done AND why on earth would we start mandating vaccines for non-communicable diseases? I feel that this infringes far too much on personal rights.
You’re right on with the varicella vaccine too. I am so annoyed that I have to give that one to my son. In my opinion, this is more evidence that pharma companies have much too strong a hold on our government and our medical establishment.
On a side note, if you get a chance to see the documentary “Selling Sickness” on this topic, I highly recommend it.
Great post.
–Mommy off the Record