HPV shots required by law???

[melhoneybee]

Just wondering what people's opinion was on this topic..


http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jan/2 ... egislature (http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jan/26/bill_would_require_hpv_shot_girls/?kansas_legislature)

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/heal ... 03.article (http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/241643,CST-NWS-texas03.article)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/ ... 1159.shtml (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/20/eveningnews/main2381159.shtml)

I personally think it's a great thing to be out there.. .but I don't think it should be required by law for 6th grade girls to get it. The drug (shot) hasn't been out there for that long (to the public, I know it's been in the test field for awhile) .. and it's not cheap.. just seems premature for it to be required..


anyone have an opinion??

[DustinsDuster]

honestly, i dont see any difference between that and any other vaccination.

i will admit i only skimmed through the first story, but it sounds to me they just want to keep people healthy. i say do it, or risk cervical cancer.....

[JustinS]

I think it should be recommended like the meningitis shot, but not required. It should be the girls' choice.

[Ashley]

it should be required. you cant leave it up to 6th grade girls to decide whether or not they want to get a shot, they'll say no, not knowing how serious cervical cancer can be.

[Drifte]

interesting they should think 6th grade girls are in need of it...

I can see its good, and bad. People say its not inviting girls to be promiscuous...OK. "Heres a shot so you can have sex and not get cancer, but you cant have sex anyway". Maybe something they should wait to get..idk. Their is always that chance of rape, where the drug would do good.

mandatory...no, should be up to the parent until 18.

[Drifte]

of course i just thought. if you just say this is a mandatory drug all girls have to take, they wont really get the idea its something just for them..

i cant decide.

[ZacFields]

I think it should be mandatory.

Either way you slice it, it's a surefire way to prevent this certain type of cancer. 99.99999% of people in this world are going to have sex at least once, might as well get them this shot so that's one thing they won't have to worry about anymore.

There's a lot of shots you're required to get for stuff that probably won't affect you. Just like your tetnis shots... never in my life have I been in a situation where my tetnis shot would have prevented me from getting tetnis.

But you just have to decide, is the cost/inconvenience too much of a problem considering what it prevents?

I don't really care either way, but IMO any shot that could prevent any kind of cancer, I would want that in my body.

Zac

[foxsgurl28]

I think that for like a high school age it should be mandatory but for a 6th grader it should be the parents choice. I mean, at 6th grade, what girl is gonna know what it is. And do you really want them going home to their parents saying "If I dont get this shot, Im gonna get cancer. I think that for the Junior High age they should have a mass meeting with all the parents of the girls to explain it and then if the parents agree that it should be done at that age then they should know the side effects too. I had that shot and I could barely handle it. You get sooooooooo sick that you cannot hold nething down for a couple days and then I also got the worst cramps in the world. So think about it, if an adult can hardly go through the side effects how is a 6th grader going to?

[Drifte]

i didnt know about the side effects. Yah.. i agree with foxsgurl

[melhoneybee]

will everyone be affected that way though? and whos to say that in the LONG run like 10 years down the road that something else might not happen because of it. How often do you hear about them removing drugs and pills and such because of a long term effect they didn't know about?

That I think is the only reason I think requiring it is a little premature. But in xxx amount of years when they know all that.. it would be an awesome idea because it would (hopefully) totally get rid of it like Polio, or small pox.

[warchild145]

agreed on it shouldnt be mandatory for 6th grade but when they get into jr high discuss it then high school when most get sexually active decide if they want it.

[foxsgurl28]

I definitly agree with you about the long run side effects. My Dr. had said that there was no KNOWN long term effects. But she also said who knows what tests will bring up later with all the ppl that they ran tests on now. I mean yea it is a good idea, for the rite age groups.

[ZacFields]

Well there's side effects to most everything you put in your body. There's side effects to chewing bubble gum. There's side effects in TUMS.

The only thing to remember, is that there is one serious side effect to not getting the shot... cervical cancer.

Zac

[amoander]

Working in medicine and all i think 6th grade for the HPV vacc. is a little early, plus i agree field testing has not gone on long enough. I also don't belive the goverment should ever force people into injecting any drug into their body even though they still do (ex. MMR ect.) to attend school. HPV isn't passed indirectly like MMR and such are which is my main reason for not making it mandatory. There is only one direct form of transmission besides blood exhcange(sexual contact). Seems a little drastic to me.

[Ashley]

will everyone be affected that way though?

nope, the only NORMAL side effect is soreness around the injection site. any other side effect is very very abnormal and should be treated by your doctor. almost every drug has that warning that says "if you experience xxx, xxx, or xxx while taking this drug, discontinue use and see your doctor" ... same thing with this shot. if you get crazy side effects besides soreness, you had a bad reaction to the drug.

[ZacFields]

I don't honestly care either way... but it's just natural reaction for people not to want to be forced to do something. So I understand that most people don't think it should be required.

The only thing is... there's a lot of parents out there that, if it were left optional, would just never get it done for their child. A woman, (or rather, teenager) probably won't make that decision for themself until it's far too late. That is the reason the government wants to interject.

Zac

[melhoneybee]

The only thing is... there's a lot of parents out there that, if it were left optional, would just never get it done for their child. A woman, (or rather, teenager) probably won't make that decision for themself until it's far too late. That is the reason the government wants to interject.

Zac



I totally 100 % agree with that too. To me the mandating of it should be done in the future.. once there is more data behind it

Really guys the 6th grade thing.. they are trying to get it into the girls systems early to avoid it. They say that 75 % of sexually active people have it.. so why wait for the girls to hit JR high have sex once.. and then have the moms say oh wait i was meaning to get this done to ya..

[amoander]

Im talking about side effects related to the genetic side of it, what is the consequence of having the anitigen in the body and your reproduction of antibodies (won't know for 10 years or so), but most likely not. The other side is the legal side, the goverment again forcing people to take medication. It is not unreasonable to see a near future where if you doctor thinks your depressed you have to take prozac and the police force you to take it to keep your drivers license away (or something in that realm). Most likely the vaccine is safe, most are. I just think the goverment doesn't have the right to force people to take drugs. It is a great thing to vaccinate people, and helps eliminate many viruses (unfortunantly it will never work for a retrovirus) but we should have a say in it. We are not all sheep (retarded and ignorant) who can't make intelligent decissions for ourselves.

[Ashley]

We are not all sheep (retarded and ignorant) who can't make intelligent decissions for ourselves.

no, but unfortunately, there are a lot of dumb parents/kids out there who actually
CANT make intelligent decisions for themselves. so because they dont know how something could benefit them, and other people, should they just be allowed to NOT get the vaccine and keep spreading HPV?

[Drifte]

walker told my i have hpv.

[amoander]

Only a small fraction of society is within that level, i think 11%, i can't remeber for sure. So the rest of society should lose more of its freedom of choice because of a small percentage. A counter point to that is that the small percentage does account for a decent deal of crime and disease issues. But i know for a fact 12 year old girls are not the age group spreading HPV is 18-26 (it varies related to different surveys but with in that range)

[ZacFields]

It's one of those things.... everyone has their own opinion on it and that opinion ain't gunna change no matter what. We've covered this with politics. lol.

I just think that something that prevents cancer really should be on the table to be a mandatory vaccine.

Here's a good medium here: Made the vaccine mandatory. However, if there are some parents that specifically object to their daughter getting the vaccination, then their daughter won't get it. Simple as that.

That way, it's mandatory, but if parents have a problem with it then they can make sure their own child doesn't get it. I bet at least 90% of parents would allow the shot to be given, though. Unless there were serious (normal) side-effects that were discovered with it.

Zac

[JustinS]

It's one of those things.... everyone has their own opinion on it and that opinion ain't gunna change no matter what. We've covered this with politics. lol.

I just think that something that prevents cancer really should be on the table to be a mandatory vaccine.

Here's a good medium here: Made the vaccine mandatory. However, if there are some parents that specifically object to their daughter getting the vaccination, then their daughter won't get it. Simple as that.

That way, it's mandatory, but if parents have a problem with it then they can make sure their own child doesn't get it. I bet at least 90% of parents would allow the shot to be given, though. Unless there were serious (normal) side-effects that were discovered with it.

Zac
That seems like a good compromise to me, I just don't like the sound of the word "mandatory" it seems too absolute to me. Kind of scares me actually.

[ZacFields]

mandatory drug tests. boogity boogity!!!!!!!

hahaha. Yeah I think it's a good compromise too. I mean, I agree you shouldn't be forced to inject something into your body.... but for certain things there needs to be a strong push.

If there was a clear cut vaccine that would prevent aids.... honestly I wouldn't get it. I understand the risks... but I also understand what my personal risk of getting aids is, which is close to 0% so I wouldn't waste my time... but now is that okay? Not exactly... lots of things could happen that could end with me spreading HIV all over the place one day all because at one point in my life I didn't think it was necessary to get the vaccine. Sometimes people just need a push.

Zac

[amoander]

I disagree dammit, not just kidding i agree with ya zac, i think it is a good thing and if it isn't made mandatory, the goverment is willing to cover the cost/ or insurance company, that is the way it should be. And when the child reaches a consenting age can choose to have the vaccine. Educate the population. I am very conservative and believe the more the goverment forces us to do certain things in life the more we lose control of our lives. I would get and HIV vaccine stat if there could ever be one because i work around blood almost daily(there will never be a HIV vaccine, it is a retrovirus with no DNA/RNA proofing system and able to mutate so frequently a vaccine could never keep up)

[Ashley]

random question.. where do you work in healthcare?

[amoander]

I work orthopedics at mercy, in IC, I also work in the psychiatric care unit in my home town. I have a nursing degree and can graduate with a BA in psychology now, but am finishing a BS in Biology at the o so crappy U of I. and i mean that.

[foxsgurl28]

Another thing to is all the other girls that have had the HPV shot was a 3 part deal. I just had my second shot of it not too long ago. The second one hurts a lot more then the first. About the same symptoms, and yea not all the girls are gonna get the same symptoms. Some may not get anything at all and some might have it to the point that its unbearable. In a way, I dont think that the government should make every girl take the shot. What about allergic reactions and its not totally tested thoroughly! I was forced to get mine by the school and my Dr. My family has a history of that type of cancer on both sides so its a scary deal for me! (sorry Fox!)