HPV vaccine required for girls applying for green cards

Friday, October 3. 2008

HPV vaccine required for girls applying for green cards

The human papilloma virus or HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer. And you guessed it, HPV is a sexually transmitted virus. It is estimated that over 6 million people contract HPV and close to 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in the U.S. The annual pap smear is the first line of defense against HPV and cervical cancer.

There has been a lot of debate about where the new vaccine against HPV is going to promote promiscuity. The vaccine is recommended for girls as young as 11. The argument is that the earlier that vaccination, the better the protection against HPV.

There are some Catholics who feels very strongly that the HPV vaccination is evil. I disagree and so does the Catholic Medical Association. Just because HPV is a sexually transmitted virus does not mean that prevention is unethical.

What is unethical is making the vaccine mandatory. HPV is not pertussis or polio or the measles or even the chicken pox. You do not "accidentally" get HPV. HPV can be prevented by responsible sexual behavior. Girls and their parents should have a choice whether or not vaccination for HPV is right for them.

That is why this story from USA Today makes me angry:

A new requirement that girls as young as 11 be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus before they can become legal U.S. residents is unfair, immigration advocates say.

The federal rule added Gardasil to the list of vaccinations that female immigrants ages 11 to 26 must get before they can obtain "green cards."

The series of three shots over six months protects against the strains of the human papillomavirus blamed for most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. But the vaccine is one of the most expensive on the market and controversial.

"This is a huge economic, social and cultural barrier to immigrants who are coming into America," said Tuyet Duong, senior staff attorney for the Immigration and Immigrant Rights Program at the Asian American Justice Center.

At a cost of $400, Gardasil places an added burden on green card applicants already paying more than $1,000 in form fees and hundreds of dollars for mandatory medical exams, advocates say.

I am all for legal immigration. I am all for making sure the legal immigrants that come to the U.S. are healthy and get the same vaccines that are required for my children. But mandating that girls as young as 11 get vaccinated against HPV is downright wrong. Education? Yes. Give us your daughter so we can inject her with a vaccine that may or may not protect her from a sexually transmitted virus that is detectable with routine pap smears or else you cannot live here? Absolutely not!

I have to wonder how much the immigration official who made this insane decision is getting from the makers of the vaccine.

Posted by Rebecca Taylor in Biotechnology at 10:16 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

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I support HPV vaccination in principle along with other vaccinations. Not only do teens sometimes act impulsively, but they can also be victims of sexual assault. How terrible would it be for a girl to get cervical cancer as a result of a rape if a vaccine could have prevented it?

But this is not the same kind of public health issue as other diseases commonly vaccinated agains.t And Gardasil is a very new vaccine without a track record as to its safety and effectiveness. It's extremely premature to mandate the vaccine for anyone, even if mandating an HPV were a good idea; and like you, I have reservations as to whether it should be mandated even if it is safe, effective, and affordable.

#1 Ginkgo100 (Homepage) on 2008-10-04 15:21 (Reply)

I have heard it suggested that the vaccine may not be effective when it is more likely to be needed, in the late teens or young adulthood, if it is given in the preteen years.

It can also have some nasty side effects, and there are reports of a number of strangely coincidental deaths. As not everyone who is exposed to HPV gets it and not everyone who gets it gets cervical cancer, I'm inclined to think the case for the vaccine overstated.

#2 cminor (Homepage) on 2008-10-04 21:57 (Reply)

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