HPV Vaccine: Mandatory?

PM_Mama00 · #1 02-04-2007, 12:52 PM

Ok.... so I just heard on CNN or CNBC that starting in 2008, Texas has made it mandatory for girls entering 6th grade to get the HPV vaccine.

I don't know much about this, except that it is supposed to prevent HPV and cervical cancer. One of my sisters that works in a pharmacy said that this vaccine isn't good because it's actually injecting HPV into your body (like the flu vaccine) and if you don't have the virus in your body, then you'll most likely get HPV anyways... or something like that.

Does anyoen know more about this?

ASUADPi · #2 02-04-2007, 01:12 PM

The vaccine is called Gardasil. I actually asked the nurse at my GYN's office in Nov/Dec about it (when I went it for my Depo shot). She said that my GYN was actually recommending for her patients to get the shot.

www.gardasil.com has more information.

Here's what I don't get, Merck is saying that girls/women from 9-26 should get the shot, what about women older than that? What about women who are older than 26 but not sexually active (ie. haven't been in years or still virgins)? Shouldn't they get the vaccine as well?

I'm not to sure I would want my 9 year old getting a vaccine for HPV. Yes, if when she gets older she comes to me and say's "I'm having sex". Hell, she be taken to the GYN and put on BCP's and given the vaccine. But I'm not sure I would want my 9 year old having the shot and thinking "hey it's okay when I get older to have sex". Because no matter what parents say, teenagers are going to experiment. We can just guide them to make the right decisions (I'm not a parent but a teacher, which means I basically act like a parent).

UGAalum94 · #3 02-04-2007, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

I'm not to sure I would want my 9 year old getting a vaccine for HPV. Yes, if when she gets older she comes to me and say's "I'm having sex". Hell, she be taken to the GYN and put on BCP's and given the vaccine. But I'm not sure I would want my 9 year old having the shot and thinking "hey it's okay when I get older to have sex". Because no matter what parents say, teenagers are going to experiment. We can just guide them to make the right decisions (I'm not a parent but a teacher, which means I basically act like a parent).

Is this the comment you mean? It seems to suggest that sexual activity is taken for granted.

SigKapSweetie · #4 02-04-2007, 10:51 PM

Yep. By the time they're having sex (and especially by the time they're admitting to having sex), it can be too late for the vaccine.

kddani · #5 02-04-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SigKapSweetie

Yep. By the time they're having sex (and especially by the time they're admitting to having sex), it can be too late for the vaccine.

Well, it's not too late, but that is the most effective. It protects against several strains of HPV. And I believe it's only good for like four years so you'll have to get them redone anyway.

SigKapSweetie · #6 02-04-2007, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kddani

Well, it's not too late, but that is the most effective. It protects against several strains of HPV. And I believe it's only good for like four years so you'll have to get them redone anyway.

It protects against 6 and 11, which cause genital warts, and 16 and 18, which are two of the most virulent cancer-causing strains.

As of now, they've confirmed the vaccine's effectiveness for up to four years. They don't know how long it lasts past four years, because the study was only four years long, so to cover their rear ends in case it doesn't last longer, they recommend boosters.

kddani · #7 02-04-2007, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

I'm not to sure I would want my 9 year old getting a vaccine for HPV. Yes, if when she gets older she comes to me and say's "I'm having sex". Hell, she be taken to the GYN and put on BCP's and given the vaccine. But I'm not sure I would want my 9 year old having the shot and thinking "hey it's okay when I get older to have sex". Because no matter what parents say, teenagers are going to experiment. We can just guide them to make the right decisions (I'm not a parent but a teacher, which means I basically act like a parent).

Chances are VERY good that your 9 year old would never even dream of going to you and saying that she's having sex. Like you said, teenagers are going to experiment. But why is getting a shot that only protects against a very specific and narrow set of strains of one disease going to encourage her to have sex? It's not like it's a magical anti-HIV shot or something (using HIV b/c its probably the most "scary" disease for a kid to think of getting from having sex). If she's educated and knows the facts before she has sex, she'll be prepared. But she doesn't necessarily need to know them at age nine. Treat it like any other vaccine.

ZTAngel · #8 02-04-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

I don't know much about this, except that it is supposed to prevent HPV and cervical cancer. One of my sisters that works in a pharmacy said that this vaccine isn't good because it's actually injecting HPV into your body (like the flu vaccine) and if you don't have the virus in your body, then you'll most likely get HPV anyways... or something like that.

I imagine that it's like any other vaccination where you are given a weakened or inactive organisms. The chance of getting an infection from the vaccine is rare just as though you were being given an MMR or tetanus vaccination which most of us received when we were infants.

kddani · #9 02-04-2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

Ok.... so I just heard on CNN or CNBC that starting in 2008, Texas has made it mandatory for girls entering 6th grade to get the HPV vaccine.

I don't know much about this, except that it is supposed to prevent HPV and cervical cancer. One of my sisters that works in a pharmacy said that this vaccine isn't good because it's actually injecting HPV into your body (like the flu vaccine) and if you don't have the virus in your body, then you'll most likely get HPV anyways... or something like that.

I don't necessarily agree with it being required- I think it should be a parental choice. Particularly since it's not a disease like TB, measles, etc.

I don't remember the particular explanation, but it is not like a flu shot. You can't get HPV from the shot- something about it not having the viral DNA.

I had my first dose of Gardasil a couple weeks ago- it's a series of 3 shots, each 2 months apart. It was just approved by my insurance company for 26 year olds on January 1st, so I'll be able to get all three doses in by the time I turn 27. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me why it's limited like that. I had absolutely no side effects from it, aside from the injection site being slightly sore if I touched or bumped it.

HPV is scary, particularly for women who don't get to the gyno on a regular basis. There are no symptoms (well, aside from the strains that cause genital warts) and its not really detected until there's been a change in your cells that is seen on the pap and follow up testing. HPV itself isn't necessarily a huge deal, but that it can lead to much bigger issues (i.e. cervical cancer) its not something to mess around with.

AChiOhSnap · #10 02-04-2007, 02:44 PM

Gardasil has not been extensively tested in women over 26 which is why it's not FDA approved for women older than that. The Gardasil fact sheet says that research is still being conducted on the effectiveness of the vaccine on women 27+.

If it's proven safe over time, I think Gardasil should be required just like any other vaccine. If we can essentially eradicate cervical cancer with this vaccine, then I see it as a matter of national -- not sexual -- health.

I would absolutely get my daughter to get the vaccine as soon as she was old enough. For me, it's not a matter of my daughter thinking it's okay to have sex. If, God forbid, my daughter were a victim of sexual assault or molestation she would at least be protected from HPV. Besides, I got hepatitis vaccinations when I was in middle school (some strains are sexually transmitted) and I never got the idea that it was okay to have sex or anything like that. It was just another routine vaccine for me.

I probably wouldn't even get into the shot's purpose with my daughter. It's not like my mom or dad ever sat down with me and explained how TB or polio was contracted. I just knew I had to get a bunch of shots.

ASUADPi · #11 02-04-2007, 03:14 PM

It just bugs me that as a 27 year old I can't get the shot.

Rephrase, I can but I'll have to probably pay a butt load out of pocket because my insurance company won't cover it. I'm sorry the risk for cervical cancer or genital warts doesn't just suddenly disappear the moment you turn 27 years old. I find it asine that 27+ women cannot get the shot with their insurance covering it.

I wonder how it works if there is a history of cancer in the family. Cancer is cancer.

Maybe I should contact Merck and volunteer to be part of their 'research' on 27+ women.

Taualumna · #12 02-04-2007, 03:40 PM

I'm wondering why people have issues with their daughters getting this vaccine when many 12 or 13 year olds are getting Hep B shots.

Munchkin03 · #13 02-04-2007, 05:08 PM

Yeah, I got the prescription too, but I'm not getting it unless I get a favorable second opinion.

I've heard that Merck is really pushing states to require it--because if there's ever a recall or problems with it, the fact that it would be governmentally mandated would relieve Merck of any liability. Cervical cancer isn't a major health issue here as it is in developing nations--where it's the cancer with the highest mortality rate. Also, the cervical cancer rate has been declining so much. So, I don't understand why this is such a major deal with states.

On the Gardasil fact sheet my doctor gave me, they said that there would be more research done on women over 27 and men.

carnation · #14 02-04-2007, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taualumna

I'm wondering why people have issues with their daughters getting this vaccine when many 12 or 13 year olds are getting Hep B shots.

Because you can get Hep B other ways besides sexual contact. I teach in a jail 2 nights a week and had to have the Hep B series--all the corrections teachers were required to--because the incidence of Hep B is so high in the prison population and we could acquire it from, say, blood. Hopefully not from spit, since somone always seems to be hacking and sneezing in my face over there.

SmartBlondeGPhB · #15 02-07-2007, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kddani

HPV is scary, particularly for women who don't get to the gyno on a regular basis. There are no symptoms (well, aside from the strains that cause genital warts) and its not really detected until there's been a change in your cells that is seen on the pap and follow up testing. HPV itself isn't necessarily a huge deal, but that it can lead to much bigger issues (i.e. cervical cancer) its not something to mess around with.

I stongly agree with this statement and if I had kids, I wouldn't even think twice about getting them vaccinated.