Childhood vaccines have been a touchy subject with many parents for decades. Some even refuse what that AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) tout as necessary for public safety. Why? There are those who refuse due to their religious beliefs, but for many the issue is more complicated.
The HPV vaccine is the newest to cause an uproar amongst parents. It has been determined that the Human Papillomavirus Virus, a sexually transmitted disease, may cause cervical cancer. In June the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer. Parents must now decide whether to vaccinate their adolescent daughters against the STD.
If you are a parent of an adolescent girl, or will be in the near future, you will have to decide whether or not to immunize her against this STD that can potentially cause cervical cancer. Religious conservatives have voiced the loudest concern at this recent health initiative. The fear is that is will undermine their own message of abstinence to their daughters. I think it is much more complicated than that, but every parent should have the power to make the decision for their own child.
One of the first steps of advocacy is to be informed. Do your homework! Make sure you educate yourself to all sides of this issue so that you can speak with an educated voice for or against this practice for the sake of your daughter(s).
National Politics & Policy FDA Announces Approval of HPV Vaccine Gardasil
Vaccinate Before You Graduate
Press Release from the FDA
Do Religious Conservatives Really Oppose the HPV Vaccine? (great blog post)
Media Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on the FDA approval of the HPV vaccine:
CBS' "Evening News": The segment includes comments from Ursula Matulonis, a physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and a U.S. woman diagnosed with cervical cancer (Kenniff, "Evening News," CBS, 6/8). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
NBC's "Nightly News": Robert Bazell, science correspondent for NBC, discusses the costs and benefits of the vaccine (Bazell, "Nightly News," NBC, 6/8). The complete segment is available online in Windows Media.
Let us know your thoughts on mandatory vaccines or specifically the HPV vaccine.
1 comment:
I would make my decision (or, I should say, I WILL make my decision) based on the health risks involved in the vaccine, and the effectiveness rate of the vaccine. I will not make the decision based on a hope or expectation that my daughters will be sexually abstinent until marriage, even if I do have that hope. Throughout history, it has always been "wrong" to have sex before marriage, and there has always been the possibility of consequences. However, the consequences today are much worse with all the STD's and AIDS. I will preach abstinence. But I believe to withhold the vaccination based on the expectation of abstinence is to say, "If you have sex, you deserve to get cancer." Obviously, I don't believe that's the way to go.
Post a Comment