Vaccine for Girls Could Be Required
By David Klepper, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
Jan. 31–TOPEKA — Kansas has joined the growing list of states considering a plan to require girls to be vaccinated against a virus that causes cervical cancer.
A bill in the Legislature would require the vaccination for all girls before sixth grade. The vaccine prevents infection by strains of human papillomavirus, a common virus spread by sexual contact and a leading cause of cervical cancer.
Parents could opt their child out of the vaccine only by signing a statement that they had received information about the vaccine.
More than a dozen other states are considering similar bills.
The vaccine could save lives, but mandating it strikes some lawmakers as a bad idea. They say parents should make the decision of whether to seek the vaccine, and some worry a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease could encourage risky sexual behavior by offering a false sense of security to young girls. Plus, the vaccine costs $360 and it’s so new that it’s not yet widely covered by insurance plans.
“My kids are going to get it,” said Rep. Jeff Colyer, R-Overland Park and a physician who leads the House Health Task Force. “But we do need to respect parents’ rights to make that decision.”
An estimated 80 percent of women will become infected with HPV before age 50, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most will fight off the infection, though some suffer from warts or have abnormal pap smears. Each year more than 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and some 3,500 women die from the disease.
“This is a huge breakthrough,” said Rep. Delia Garcia, D-Wichita, who sponsored the bill. “It’s taking a stand on preventing cervical cancer.
“It will save women’s lives.”
In an indication of support, Garcia is joined by 36 other lawmakers — Republican, Democrat, moderate and conservative — as sponsors of Bill 2227.
The vaccine, called Gardasil, is given in three doses over six months. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug last year after several years of tests, some of which were conducted at the University of Kansas.
Merck, Gardasil’s manufacturer, recommends vaccination before the start of sexual activity. The American Cancer Society and other groups have recommended the vaccine for girls ages 11 and 12, but older women may get the vaccine as well.
Some lawmakers are leery about mandating vaccines for a sexually transmitted disease for 11-year-olds. As Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, said, “there is the concern it (the vaccine) could lead to promiscuity.”
A physician who led research on the vaccine at KU said those fears are misplaced. He said teens already engage in risky sexual activities, and without any protection against HPV.
“I’m in favor of abstinence, and I’m in favor of waiting until marriage,” said Henry William Buck, a retired gynecologist from the university’s Student Health Services. “But you have to face the reality of what’s going on.”
Buck led testing of the vaccine at KU from 1999 to 2003, when the vaccine was tested on 60 students. He said he has seen about 6,000 cases of HPV infection during his career.
Researchers “couldn’t believe how effective this vaccine was,” he said.
He said the vaccine is most helpful for women who haven’t yet become sexually active. But even women who have been exposed to HPV already will benefit, he said, because the vaccine offers protection against different strains of the virus.
“It’s a great vaccine, and it will save lives,” said Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, a physician and chairman of a Senate health care committee. “But it’s an expensive vaccine; $360 is a huge bite.”
Garcia said federal grants are making the vaccine available to those who can’t afford it or whose insurance policies won’t cover it. And she said she expects insurance companies to cover the vaccine as the public realizes its benefits.
Reach David Klepper at 785-354-1388 or dklepper@kcstar.com [mailto:dklepper@kcstar.com].
Contributing: Melodee Hall Blobaum of the Kansas City Star
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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