NO to Mandatory HPV Vaccinations

CWA-VA has some facts about the HPV Vaccine and the legislation to be voted on in the House of Delegates this Friday. The idea of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer is wonderful. The problem here, in my opinion, is the lack of statistical data on long term effects on developing girls and the difficulty parents will have opting their children out of the immunizations.

I don't believe our General Assembly at this time is qualified to make these decisions for parents, especially when this is such a new medical development. Let's see what the professionals are saying after a few more years of research before making this mandatory for girls to attend the 6th grade.

Meanwhile, thanks to an aggressive television ad campaign, the public is becoming aware of the vaccine and parents can look to their family doctors for advice.

Bill Number: HB 2035
Bill Title & Summary: Human papillomavirus vaccine; added as required vaccination.
Requires females to receive three doses of properly spaced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The first dose shall be administered before the child enters the sixth grade. This bill contains a delayed effective date of September 1, 2008.
Next Action: House Floor

• HPV infection is a serious problem in our sex-saturated society. It is easily transmitted not only because condoms do not completely protect against it, but because it can be transmitted skin to skin as well as in sexual intercourse.
• Annually, two and a half million American women experience an abnormal Pap smear; a majority of those have an HPV infection. HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer (99 percent). Cervical cancer is diagnosed in 13,000 women a year with almost 5,000 deaths annually.
• HPV is associated with several other cancers as well: oral, vaginal, vulva, penile and anal cancer.
• Recently, a vaccine against the strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This vaccine, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, is available in a three-shot regimen over a period of six months.
• The vaccine has shown to be effective against HPV types 16 and 18 which are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancers and HPV types 6 and 11 which are responsible for 90 percent of genital warts (another manifestation of HPV infection). There is no evidence that it reduces the risk for cervical cancers caused by other HPV types which cause the remaining 30 percent of cervical cancers [Statement from the Medical Institute for Sexual Health on HPV Vaccine].
• There are more than 100 types of HPV; the vaccine is effective against four of them, albeit they are the ones which cause most of the problems. According to its manufacturer the vaccine will not protect against HPV types to which patients have already been exposed, and it will not protect against other diseases that are not caused by HPV.
• Since the vaccine is most effective before a girl becomes sexually active, many are recommending that girls be vaccinated at nine to 12 years of age. There have been no long-term studies on the effects of the vaccine.

o No one knows for sure how long the antibody titer necessary to produce an immune response will last. Some have suggested that a booster shot will be necessary in five years.
o If a girl is vaccinated at age 11, her maximum immunity would be declining by age 16 the age at which many girls become sexually active.
o The vaccine has been approved only for less than a year.
o It does not prevent all cervical cancer. Girls and women will still be required to get a regular Pap smear to detect cervical cancers caused by other HPV types. Having had the vaccine might give women a false sense of security.

• Some have said it gives a message to our youth that we expect them to be promiscuous.
• Parents, not the state, should make medical decisions for their child.
• Because of the newness of the vaccine and the unclear status of long-term effects and efficacy, should our children have to be the state’s guinea pigs? Many worry that there are no statistics on carcinogenicity, or genotoxicity or chromosomal damage. Since this vaccine will be given to mostly pre-pubescent girls, shouldn’t we have the facts on that?