Texas first state to require HPV vaccine

[georgesbluegirl]

February 3, 2007

Texas Is First to Require Cancer Shots for Schoolgirls

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

HOUSTON, Feb. 2

[Guest moonchild86]

Being a realistic Christian I say why not. God gives us all medical knowledge for all kinds of vaccines that save many lives daily. A woman (or girl) can get the disease from her husband or rape or incest as well as sleeping around. Hopefully she would have some one to counsel her about being promiscuous but many do not,( poverty, mental illness, depression may be causes of the problem) and God never wants anyone to suffer with any of the world's diseases. (How do I know? God is Love.) God is our judge and it should be no one else.

[RustyAngeL]

Being a realistic Christian I say why not. God gives us all medical knowledge for all kinds of vaccines that save many lives daily. A woman (or girl) can get the disease from her husband or rape or incest as well as sleeping around. Hopefully she would have some one to counsel her about being promiscuous but many do not,( poverty, mental illness, depression may be causes of the problem) and God never wants anyone to suffer with any of the world's diseases. (How do I know? God is Love.) God is our judge and it should be no one else.

I totally agree.

[Guest LadyC]

i don't know what i think of mandatory vaccinations. it will not prevent all cervical cancer, it will only prevent cervical cancer that results from hpv.

and here's my beef with it. not the vaccine itself, but the way the commercials and advertisements are presenting this to the public. they refer to HPV as a COMMON VIRUS... kinda like a cold.

they don't bother letting people know that HPV is a SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE.

to me this is just like everything else... let's make it acceptable, le'ts make the public not think of it in negative terms.... after all, homosexuality is just another acceptable lifestyle, soft-porn on our tv screens is just a "healthy expression of sexuality"... and sexually transmitted diseases are nothing to be ashamed of.

it bothers me that society is being so brainwashed.

[forrestkc]

From Wikipedia on HPV:

A separate group of about 30 HPVs are typically transmitted through sexual contact. Genital HPV infection is very common, with estimates suggesting that up to 75% of women will become infected with one or more of the sexually transmitted HPV types at some point during adulthood (Baseman and Koutsky, 2005). Some sexually transmitted HPVs, such as types 6 and 11, can cause genital warts. However, most HPV types that infect the genitals tend not to cause noticeable symptoms. Persistent infection with a subset of about a dozen so-called "high-risk" sexually transmitted HPVs, including types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45 and 51 can lead to the development of cancer of the cervix. HPV infection is a necessary factor in the development of nearly all cases of cervical cancer (Walboomers 1999).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV

There is nothing to be ashamed of in getting a virus that up to 75% of women become infected with.

[Guest LadyC]

From Wikipedia on HPV:

A separate group of about 30 HPVs are typically transmitted through sexual contact. Genital HPV infection is very common, with estimates suggesting that up to 75% of women will become infected with one or more of the sexually transmitted HPV types at some point during adulthood (Baseman and Koutsky, 2005). Some sexually transmitted HPVs, such as types 6 and 11, can cause genital warts. However, most HPV types that infect the genitals tend not to cause noticeable symptoms. Persistent infection with a subset of about a dozen so-called "high-risk" sexually transmitted HPVs, including types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45 and 51 can lead to the development of cancer of the cervix. HPV infection is a necessary factor in the development of nearly all cases of cervical cancer (Walboomers 1999).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV

There is nothing to be ashamed of in getting a virus that up to 75% of women become infected with.

you see no shame in 75% of women becoming infected with a sexually transmitted disease? now why does this NOT surprise me?

from the CDC website:

Are there other ways to prevent HPV?

The only sure way to prevent HPV is to abstain from all sexual activity. Sexually active adults can reduce their risk by being in a mutually faithful relationship with someone who has had no other or few sex partners, or by limiting their number of sex partners. But even persons with only one lifetime sex partner can get HPV, if their partner has had previous partners.

[Guest LadyC]

oh, i can't help but throw this in.... i didn't even bother to mention my usual reminder to you that wikipedia is not a reliable source of information, because it would spurn yet another war over wikipedia and that's not the topic being discussed. so i just went by the figures you provided in your quote.

but the CDC website says that up to 50% of all sexually active people will get it.

NOT up to 75% of WOMEN, but HALF of all sexually active people, regardless of gender.

and this vaccination is being recommended for 9 year olds.

ugh.

oh, and it only is affective against four strains of the virus. and they have no clue as to how long it will remain affective. so far they can only vouch for five years. but they do indicate you still have to get cancer screenings even if you've had the vaccine.... and the price of the vaccine is $360.

i'm far more in favor of teaching absitinance til marriage, and monogamy after marriage, than requiring nine year olds to get a $360 vaccine that may only last through their freshmen year of high school. oh wait, the parents don't have to pay, our tax dollars pay for it as long as they're still in school.

oh, and the vaccine isn't recommended for women beyond their late 20's. and it's not even available for men.

amazing.

nope, i've decided. i'm against this vaccine.

[ladypeartree]

By the sound of it this is not a voluntary vaccine but is compulsory ?? what about those who have alergic reaction to many vaccines ? who has the right to make it illegal to not inject a mild dose of a virus into a child ? ( that is what vaccines do, inject a mild dose or a dose of "dead" virus ) so when does it become law that all children have to get vaccinated against any other disease that they may or may not come into contact with ? what happened to freedom of choice ?

No I am not against vaccination but it should NOT be illegal to not vaccinate your child

[Guest LadyC]

only compulsary in texas. i'm glad i don't live there anymore.

here's something else to ponder. it's mandatory for sixth grade girls to get vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease, yet it's practically illegal for a school to teach or promote abstinance. it is illegal for a child in the sixth grade to have sex, but it's required that a girl in sixth grade get a shot so that she doesn't pass along an STD.... and remember, that's what HPV is. they can hype it up as being for their own protection against cancer, but it's also to prevent the spread of the disease.

there is no law requiring sixth grade boys to carry condoms, and laws which make it illegal to commit adultry have been abolished. swingers clubs are all the rage across this country, and many of them are advertised in the dallas area. but let's recommend that nine year olds get a vaccination, and require it by the age of 11. yeah, that's a great plan.

[georgesbluegirl]

Okay, a few things:

First, the law states that if a family wants to opt out of vaccinating their kids, they can.

However, as moonchild put it - why not?

The vaccine only works for ages 9-26, and it's better to get it at a younger age. As soon as it's approved for males, I'm sure it will be given to young boys as well. Remember, a female contracts the virus from a male partner (usually), who will show no symptoms.

The argument that this vaccine encourages promiscuity or sexual immorality is just silly. As someone else pointed out, you could be infected upon rape, or even from a husband who is unknowingly a carrier. Yes, you have to have sex to be infected with HPV, but since when do we judge that people should be vulnerable or invulnerable to cancer because of their personal choices, right or wrong? Even sons and daughters raised to be chaste may transgress. That doesn't mean that they should not be protected as best they can be. A wife can love a husband who has led a life of sexual excess and reformed, and she should know that she does not run the risk of cervical cancer for it. These are only a couple of examples. On the whole, especially with the option of non-vaccination for families with objections to the vaccine, I can't see how this is anything but a good thing.

I'm starting my shots in a month.