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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 17033
[Health]
Date Posted:
1/10/2007
7:30:45 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,685
RSS: 17,937
Comments: 7
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D.C. Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine
Author: Nikita Stewart and Rob Stein Source: Washington Post
Title: D.C. BILL WOULD MANDATE VACCINE
The D.C. Council opened its legislative year by introducing a bill that could make the District one of the first jurisdictions in the country to require girls younger than 13 years old to get a new nationally debated vaccine against cervical cancer.
Female students enrolling in the sixth grade would be asked to show proof of receiving the vaccine against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) under the bill, introduced yesterday by council members David A. Catania (I-At Large) and Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3).
A parent or legal guardian would have the right to "opt out" of the requirement, Catania said, but the bill does not detail under what circumstances exemptions would be permitted.
Similar proposals are pending in Kentucky and California, and several other states are also considering such legislation. A bill to require the vaccine failed last year in Michigan.
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Community Thoughts: There are 7 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Not Really For, Not Really Against... | Jan 11th. at 5:06:23 pm EST
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Sparrow (Chicago, Mississippi) - Email Me
Well, I don't know if I agree that it should be mandatory, but I do agree that it should be something that parents are forced to face when their children are young. I have a strain of HPV that has caused me problems and painful procedures over the last year or so. I had not even heard of HPV until I had a pap smear come back twice showing abnormal cells. My mother is the manager of the lab at the local clinic, and she never considered that it would be a problem for me because it isn't that talked about. Even if all this only increases awareness about HPV and the fact that there is a vaccine, it's worth going through the arguements to make it mandatory.
The talk about providing it free for those that cannot pay, though, is what really caught my eye. The vaccine is expensive, and that's the only thing that has stopped me from getting it already. I can't afford to get it, but my doctor has told me that it would help alot with the problems I've been having.
BUT, what everyone must keep in mind while talking about this vaccination, is that it only covers four strains of HPV, and there are quite a few out there. And of the strains that it covers, only one is a cancer causing strain.
So like I said, while I may not necessarily agree in mandatory vaccination, I do agree that more people need to know about it and it needs to be made more readily available that $200/shot in a series of three shots.
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| As Long As There Is An Opt Out | Jan 10th. at 5:24:51 pm EST
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Arcadia's Ashes (Sydney, New South Wales) - Email Me
I used to be a bit of a pro vaccination fundamentalist but have now changed my mind a little bit. I still don't believe that there is proper scientific evidence that MMR causes autism, learning disabilities etc. but the there are potential adverse effects from some vaccinations/ drugs and the full effect of these are not fully predictable from animal trials (which are in some cases worse than useless) .
Really, the only way to tell for sure is multiple prospective studies where a group of people are given the vaccine and another aren't and their medical lives are followed as closely as, and for as long as, possible. Ideally, this should be unbiased, double blinded and placebo controlled but this is not ethically cool in this case (in my opinion, anyway) . Retrospective studies are also possible.
The only way we will know is if girls do get this vaccination so if we ever want new drugs, treatments or vaccines again then some people will have to take a risk. It sounds horrible to be risking the lives of your children but we do it all the time. Every time we put our kids in the car, every time we let them play sport, run or climb, every time we introduce them to a new food ingredient we are taking the chance that this will make their lives better, even though it could make it worse.
The HPV vaccine will probably prevent most cervical cancers (there are probably a small minority of non-HPV linked ones) , may do nothing at all or their is a small change that it will have an adverse health event. These events may or may not be more common and scarier than cancer. You have to take a risk.
But don't fall into the trap of thinking that NOT doing it is NOT taking a risk, it is just a different choice and no more morally positive than the other. Also keep in mind that if enough people do it and you don't you (and your children) may get the benefits without taking the risk (if the prevalence of HPV is lowered) . Please make it an informed decision, and please make sure you are using unbiased information to make your decision
I will get this vaccination and if my uterus has a girl in it, she will probably get it too and she will certainly be getting MMR, whooping cough, diphtheria etc.
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| Not Immunised And Living In Canada | Jan 10th. at 1:51:54 pm EST
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Lady Olwen Moondancer (Newmarket, Ontario) - Email Me
Makes me glad that my daughter and I are unimmunised and living in Canada. Whether vaccinations are beneficial or not remains to be seen. We're still getting the body count . Regardless, nobody should ever be forced to have medical treatment against their will. Another good reason to homeschool. BTW, I support your decision to have these shots...
Find More info -- HERE
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| ... | Jan 10th. at 12:17:23 pm EST
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Amtehuti (Queens, Florida) - Email Me
The long term effects of this drug will be to prevent your daughters from contracting a common, and potentially cancer-causing, disease. Yep. Isn't that just awful? To think that we may stand in the way of God, who obviously created HPV to hurt all those evil sluts in the world. **sarcasm alert**
I had HPV and have been holding my breath for my test results to finally show it's passed. Now that it has, I'm the first in line for this vaccine, and I hope that everyone with half a brain will also give their daughters this vaccine. With HPV affecting over 70% of sexually active women under the age of 50 at some point in their lives, the odds are that your family members will contract this disease. I hope that, when your daughter is terrified because she has cervical cancer, you're able to tell her it's YOUR fault and that you failed to protect her.
If there's one thing that annoys me more than Christian fundies, it's the pseudo-health fundies. Medicine is not some evil conspiracy. No, we don't know the long term possibilities of this drug, but I know of one long term certainty: your daughters will not die of cervical cancer. How is this a bad thing? Schools should mandate these vaccines to protect children from the idiots that refuse them those shots.
Congratulations to DC for behaving intelligently.
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