Since it affects teens more than adults, I decided it was the bst forum to put it in, if a mod thinks ofa better one please move it there.in another post Steve said "But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't get my daughter an HPV immunization, even if I thought that abstinence were the only way."There is alot of debate right now about a state (I forget what one, Texas maybe, thats what sticks inmy head atleast but Im not 100% on it) has decided to add the HPV immunization to the required list of inoculations required for attending school.How do you as a parent view this?Should it be a states choice to give a new and relatively unknown long term effects shot to your child ?Should that duty of decision remain with the parent?As a teen, would you feel any better knowing that its required to have that shot? If its all turns out to have only posative effects and no long term nasties it certainly would aid in preventing cervical cancer. How do you feel about being the guini pigs for this ?
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HPV Immunizations
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The state is Texas, and the Republican governor wants to make it a requirement that all girls entering the sixth grade be immunized with an HPV vaccine that's effective on four strains of the virus, which are responsible for 90% of cervical cancer cases.
Parents would have the right to opt out of the immunization program, so it wouldn't actually be a requirement.
There is also talk of requiring it in Florida and other states. I don't see it happening here any time soon.
Aside from the usual arguments against vaccines, especially new ones, the are well-organized conservative political Christian organizations in Texas that are fighting against the vaccine. Their main issue is that it will make girls more likely to be promiscuous, since they won't have to worry about getting HPV.
By that logic, I'm not sure why getting a tetanus shot doesn't make people look for rusty nails to step on. The HPV vaccine won't prevent infection by HIV, hepatitis, other a myriad of other STDs, including the bacterial ones.
Abstinence might be fine in the abstract, but it's a failure in reality. And it completely begs the issue of sexual assaults; there are women who have been infected with a bad HPV strain during a rape, and went on to develop cervical cancer.
The trials of the vaccine have shown it to be 100% effective. Maybe it's God's will that people use it.
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My kids have all thier immunizations up to date. They are though old, time tested, long term results known and documented. I cant argue that they havent saved thousands of children pain suffering and even death. And at one time they were new, just like the HPV. That OPT out is available country wide, even the standard inoculations can be opted out of. Alot of people dont knwo about that though, I only know about it because it was carried as part of the news story I saw a few weeks ago on the HPV shots. The question is though with something so new, no matter how effective is it wirth the risk of long term possibilites to REQUIRE it?I agree, with the analagy of tetnus shots and rusty nails, but I dont think that if they will be or will not be whoring it out a bit is a valid concern for requiring the shot vs offering it at the parents discretion.
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It's true. Tney [The State of Texas]are pushing for it to be mandatory for all young women and young females. They are going as far as trying to get it as a requirement before being allowed to go to school. We have not taken the kid in yet as I still feel that the jury is out on this one other than it being very expensive and not covered yet under any of our insurance policy'sI'm not sure which way to lean on this one....