Soapbox Topic: Vaccines (HPV)

by Teresa

Vaccines (HPV)

A vaccine called Gardasil protects against HPV, the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer.  An article in the New York Times recently talks about how the vaccine is currently marketed to girls, but could soon be recommended for boys, too, and why that may be a good idea.  (For the Times article, click here. . For more information about Gardasil:  click here.)

Gardasil is pretty new, and when it first came out, some districts tried to make it mandatory for girls in certain age groups.  There was an outcry from some parents who didn’t want their daughters to have it.  Why didn’t they want the vaccine?  Because HPV is a sexually transmitted disease.  Human Papilloma Virus, in addition to causing most cases of cervical cancer, can also cause genital warts.  The HPV vaccine protects against two strains that cause cancer, and two that cause warts.  Not a pleasant topic, perhaps, but it’s important medical information.

Some parents actually objected to the vaccine because they said it would make kids more likely to become sexually active.  That’s right.  This vaccine could save the lives of daughters all over the U.S. someday, but some parents didn’t want it, because their kids might take it as a sign that they were free to have sex.  Moreover, many of these parents said their daughters didn’t NEED it, because they would never have sex before marriage.  (I guess it never occurred to those parents that perhaps their angelic daughters might end up MARRYING someone who’d already had sex; no matter whether you get it before or after marriage, HPV can STILL cause cancer!)

And so.
Here comes my soapbox, folks.

First of all, TEENS HAVE SEX.  Despite years of federally-funded efforts to promote abstinence, TEENS ARE STILL HAVING SEX.  No, I don’t like to think about my daughter having sex in high school (and my husband will assuredly turn pale if you mention it in his presence).  I don’t know any parents who aren’t concerned about teen sex.  But let’s get real, here.  A recent study reported that 47 percent of all high school students in this country say they’ve had sex at least once.  By spring of their senior year, 63 percent say they’ve had sex.  (To read more about the study, which also looked at the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex ed, click here.)
Kids are already having sex, with or without this vaccine. 

Secondly, since many schools have been using “abstinence” programs instead of comprehensive sex education, now more than ever, it’s up to parents to explain to their children that there can be MANY consequences of sex during teenage years. Those include, but are not limited to: HIV and other diseases, teen pregnancy, gossip among other students, and just plain old broken hearts!  If offering your child a vaccine to protect against one STD actually convinces your child that he or she can pursue sex with no consequences, then you’re failing as a parent.  It’s not the vaccine’s fault.  It’s yours.

Third.  It can’t be said enough.  Cervical cancer KILLS WOMEN.  More than 10,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with it each year.  Of those, more than 3,000 will die from it.  This vaccine could SAVE your daughter’s life someday.  Listen, it comes down to this for me.  It’s really simple.  You have a vaccine that could save my daughter’s life?  SIGN HER UP.  You want boys to get vaccinated too, to make sure they can’t transmit a potentially deadly disease to others?  SIGN MY SON UP, TOO.  I will sign them up as soon as they’re old enough (Gardasil is recommended for the pre-teen years, before children become sexually active). 

Now, if you don’t want your child to have a vaccine because of a medical concern of some kind, that’s a completely different story (in the districts that tried to make the vaccine mandatory, any parent who wanted to “opt out” simply had to sign a form, and that was that).  Do what you have to do, check with your doctor for advice, read all the information you can get your hands on, and make an informed decision.

But please, don’t argue that a life-saving vaccine should be eliminated, just because it’s aimed at an STD.