I think you raise good questions. I will tell you that my gynecologist told me at my last check up (prior to this vaccination being made available to the general public), that he had obtained it at a very significant cost and was giving it to his sexually active 17 year old daughter. IMHO, if my doctor would give his daughter the vaccine, I would do the same. I don't know the stats on giving it to older women, I am still researching the information that is being put out there, but the science is there regarding prevention for teens and younger women who are sexually active.

This is a subject that I am interested in as well. My daughter is 14 and there is talk about making the vaccine mandatory for middle schoolers in some states. I'm not so sure about -that- at this point.

I suggest you do some Googling to find articles by publications you respect regarding this.
Immunisation for HPV which is a factor in cervical cancer is more effective when given to young women who are not yet sexually active- not to say that it won't work for women who are sexually active, but if they have already caught HPV, the vaccine will be ineffective.
Why are you particularly concerned about this vaccine? If your doctor had told you there was a vaccine against some other potentially fatal disease (which had no sexual connections), but there might need to be boosters in later life, would you be so hestitant? We get boosters for tetanus, for instance (or at least you should).
I don't believe having your daughter immunised is some sort of tacit permission to become sexually active. I am the mother of a 22 year old and I will be urging her to become vaccinated, as I think any chance of preventing the possibility of contracting a nasty and potentially fatal disease is worth taking. After all, I had her immunised against polio, measles, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough and a raft of other diseases.
As for the drug companies, what they are offering is peace of mind as much as an actual vaccine. In this vein, I have my cats immunised every year against cat flu and whatever else the vet recommends. It may be that this is not necessary every year, and the vet and the drug company are making a mint out of me and others like me, but to me $50 is cheap to feel that this year my cat won't get an avoidable fatal disease. I feel the same way about human vaccines. If the HPV vaccine people recommended that, to be on the safe side, annual vaccinations were needed, then unless reputable medical studies came out to refute this, I would be in the "get an annual immunisation" camp. This is one area where I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Below I will post an example of an article on this subject, but if you Google you'll find dozens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Prevention.com article on HPV vaccine

I dont think it should be mandatory for school though.Kids that age usually arent having sex yet,and if they do it's with other virgins.
I think it should be left up to the parents and the kids if and when to get it.
Personally,I would allow my daughter to have it~I just dont think schools have any business in it is all.

My dd is only 3 yo so it's not an issue here yet. I am horrified by the possible mandatory immunization. I'm still less than thrilled that I had to get a chicken pox immunization for my children. I don't think the vaccines have been tested well enough. When it comes to anything sexually related, I dont want to be forced into someone else's agenda.

I'm not sure why this is a mandatory vaccination since you can't "catch" cervical cancer in a school setting.

That said, if you want to enroll or have your child attend a public school, you must meet all vaccination requirements set forth by the school district. However, I don't believe chicken pox, (Varacella) is a required vaccination, at least not here in our State.

I had my daughter vaccinated at age 3 with the Varacella vaccine as I didn't want her to get chicken pox. I also paid out of pocket because back then insurance did not cover that particular vaccination.

Also, some parents are against any/all vaccinations. That's fine, just send your kids to a private school that doesn't require the vaccinations prior to enrollment, and don't complain if your child gets something they are not vaccinated against.

I had my daughter vaccinated against hepatitis B,which wasnt mandatory either,but a simple thing that could be prevented with the vaccine so I opted for it.
I just think labmomma makes a good point,that it's not like kids can catch cervical cancer in a school setting,so school shouldnt have anything to do with it.

While you don't catch cervical cancer in a school setting, it's a good age at which to vaccinate because the vaccine is most effective when used BEFORE the girl is sexually active. While their first sexual experiences may be with other uninfected virgins, that can't be guaranteed and it only takes one infected partner to make the vaccine ineffective.
I think it's more of a coverage issue from the health authorities' POV- most girls who are not sexually active are in schools, so if you vaccinate all these girls as a matter of course, in a generation HPV will be almost eradicated.

I worry about -any- new vaccine and the possible future consequences.. especially on children.

My boss's husband got polio from the polio vaccine but even had I known this at the time my children were babies, I would not have hesitated. The risk is very small and we understand the vaccine after all these years. We really don't know anything about future risk of this new vaccine for HPV.

I think it's a great vaccine with the potential to almost eradicate that type of cervical cancer.... -if- 10 years down the road all these children that receive it doesn't end up with complications.

Just a very few years back, small pox and whooping were required to enter public school...and most private schools as well. My father lost a brother to diptheria and my greatgrandmother a couple of siblings. I had whooping cough as a child as did my baby brother...and he almost died....very very sick.
Right now we have the means to wipe out a disease that leads to cancer and sometimes loss of life.
Children are sexually active earlier now than anytime in history and with more partners....do you honestly think that will go away in the next 35 years?
Suppose your daughter marries a man who has had a one night stand and knows he carries the HPV...but your daughter wasn't vaccinated at the time for optimal immunity?
I am all for making the vaccination manditory for all girls of grade school age to protect them from the consequences of ignorance and shortsightedness.
Linda C

I have a big problem with making this vaccine mandatory. I question the motives of Merck, who are expected to profit between 2 billion and 4 billion dollars on this potentially mandatory vaccine. What about the fact that the Governor's former Chief of Staff, Mike Toomey, is one of the 3 Lobbyist's of this vaccine? Gov. Rick Perry of Texas bypassed the legislature using an executive order to make this vaccine mandatory. Young girls need three shots, at 120 dollars a piece. What about those with no insurance? Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to vaccines, I'm glad we've erradicated Polio from our country. I opted to vaccinate my child against chicken pox. Does anyone remember Thalidomide? A vaccine given to pregnant women to help reduce morning sickness. It led to 10,000 deformed and crippled children. I think I would feel a little more comfortable with more research, and without the scurrying around to make this a mandatory vaccine. This vaccine protects against 70% of the types of HPV; it is unknown how long the vaccine is effective. Also, not all insurance companies will cover the cost. However, they will cover Viagra!! Just some food for thought :) Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Examples of Failed Vaccines

Two small points, Christy. Thalidomide is not a vaccine, it's a drug. There is a difference. And the link you posted is to the Washington Home and Gardens Show.
The problem as I see it with waiting to see if there are long-term effects, or how for how long the vaccination is effective, is that by the time the girls have waited for 10 or 20 years, they will probably have been exposed to the HPV and so made vaccination not possible. So really, you're d@amned if you do and d@mned if you don't.

Just this week, I received a notice from my DS school, all girls in high school will be having the cervical vaccine in a month. Nurses come to the school to administer it, all for free.

I think that is wonderful.

You're right it is a drug, here is the link to the page I meant to post. I hope you're not d@mned if you do and d@mned if you don't. Teaching safe sex, condom use, could also decrease your chances of contracting HPV. I wish that was more common, handing out condoms and such. Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Fact Sheet - Medical Research

When a site that is supposed to enlighten states one false fact, I immediatly discount everything else stated that I don't know is true.
Penicillin was rushed into production in very few years. Fleming originally observed the strange properties of that blue green mold in 1928, and in '41 the culture was brought to the US because of the war in Europe and by 1943 it was on the market, and by '46 the price had dropped to $.55 a dose.
Yes...the drug companiew will make billions...but without spending billions new vaccines and cures won't continue to be developed.
I guess I see refusing to have your teen age daughter vaccinated pretty much like refusing to buy a car because of the pay demanded the steel workers by their union, or refusing to see a ball game because of what the players make, or refusing to see a movie because of the profits involved.
Linda C

I didn't see what was false, but I didn't really look that hard, either. I see your point, but without further testing couldn't you say that you're buying a car without any knowledge of the engine, safety features, estimated gas mileage, any information at all? Blindly following everyone else into the dealership and writing a check? My kid is only one year old, so this won't be an issue for me for several years. According to this article, of the 25,000 people that participated in clinical trials, only 1,184 were pre-teen girls. Also, side effects don't become apparent for several years after a drug has been on the market. So, why mandatory? That is what worries me. Again, food for thought. It will be several years before this becomes my issue. Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Alliance for Human Research Protection

The page in the first link discusses only drugs- not vaccines. There is a huge difference. Drugs are used to alter body chemistry and to eradicate infections. Vaccines are used to stimulate the body to produce its own antibodies which will later fight off infections the bodies are exposed to.
I tried finding reputable sites listing long term effects of _vaccination_, and the concensus is that any serious adverse effects are so rare it is impossible to establish a causal link with vaccination. Sites which did claim serious long term effects from vaccination were of the "it's so because everyone knows that" or "I got sick so it _must_ have been the vaccination" or "my granny told me" type. None I found mentioned any actual scientific studies.

I agree with Christy,and here's why.Cuz in a way,it is like making our daughters ginny pigs.
I also think it should be up to the teen.We arent talking about little girls getting this shot,but teenage girls who are pretty smart and opinionated about their bodies. I think the choice should be left up to the individual,just as using a condom is left up to the individual,and birth control pills.
Teen pregnancy is also an epidemic~but they dont make birth controls mandatory in schools.
As i said,I think the vaccine could be great.But very little is known about it right now.They also had a vaccine they thought would work for AIDS,and it didnt.So,you just never know.

What AIDS vaccine? That has long been a goal but as yet none has been developed.
And when did any 13 year old ever know what is good for her.
I was a guinea pig if that's what you want to call it...I had the polio vaccine weeks after it came out. I had to rush to get it because they were not giving it to those over a certain age and I waas days away from a birthday. And given that later in that year a severe outbreak developed, I was very very glad to have the vaccine.
Equating birth control to stem teen pregnancy with a vaccine to stem a disease which leads to cancer is not a valid comparison.
Yep...its a really good thing to leave decisions relating to her health up to a 13 year old...yep! For sure...don't want to go to the dentist? Why then don't go! Think you broke your arm? Don't want to bother with a cast? Don't get it x-rayed. Pain in your stomach? Nah!...probably nothing...even when you are doubled over...wouldn'
t want to check for appendicitis...might need surgery and that would leave a scar above your bikini line!
Mandatory, because of situations like we see here. People not seeing the big picture, just objecting to being told to get immunized.
Linda C

"What AIDS vaccine?"
I saw on the discovery channel,that a few years ago,they thought they had a possible vaccine for AIDS. They tested it on people,and while it appeared to work at first~they soon learned that it didnt and infected the individuals with the virus.They had very high hopes and were almost certain the vaccine would work.

"Yep...its a really good thing to leave decisions relating to her health up to a 13 year old...yep! For sure...don't want to go to the dentist? Why then don't go! Think you broke your arm? Don't want to bother with a cast? Don't get it x-rayed. Pain in your stomach? Nah!...probably nothing...even when you are doubled over...wouldn'
t want to check for appendicitis...might need surgery and that would leave a scar above your bikini line! "

All of these examples are clearly not the same as taking a new vaccine to a SEXUALLY transmitted disease that unknown effects of may not be known yet.Your use of sarcasam doesnt change that fact.
It is not like it cant be prevented at all,when using a condom is still probably the most effective way short of never having sex.It may even cause some people to get even more careless thinking they are protected,so they may not use a condom.
Not everyone is willing to take the risk involved,and it is understandable,because these are our children.So many times the FDA has said drugs were safe only to recall or have lawsuits brought against certain drugs.

Anyways,there is no reason to get "up in arms' about it.We are all entitled to our own opinions here.Frankly,I can see both sides of the debate.Yet,I would still be weary of letting them inject my daughter with something they havent had time to do ample amount of testing on.That's just me.

Polio and HPV are not comparable. You catch Polio by touching contaminated surfaces (contaminated by feces) and getting it in your mouth. HPV is an STD. It's not like people are accidently bumping into each other and having sex, therefore contracting HPV. I think a brand new mandatory vaccination deserves questions. I don't think it deserves as much anger as it seems to be getting. I think it is healthy to question things that affect our lives and our children. Could you imagine the alternative? Christy

Polio virus also replicates and is spread through the respiratory tract. It is spread through sneezes, coughs and general close contact with infected people.
I remember 25 or so years when you could not get into the US...even if you were a citizen travelling in Europe, without showing proof of a polio vaccine. That is not so any more.
I remember when you were required to show proof of a small pox vaccination before attending school and before re-entering this country from another. That's not so anymore. Why? because immunization was required for school attendance.
Those diseases are no longer a threat. Small pox has been wiped off the map, it's been years since there has been even one recorded case. Polio is almost wiped out but for a few 3rd world nations and the Amish community who refuses immunization.
The reality of wiping out a disease that causes cancer in women is at hand. HPV could be wiped out within the lifetime of those who are teen-agers today. But for this to happen, a large majority of young people will have to be immunized. The only way this is going to happen is to make it mandatory for school attendance.
And sure...a condom is a way to prevent the disease....and of course teens will be sure to use a condom. You can tell they will by the lack of teen pregnancies.
Get your girls immunized even it it doesn't become mandatory for school attendance.

Teaka123,what did you and your daughter decide to do?

I just talked to my ob gyn yesterday about this. He thinks it is bad to mandate it. It is not a wildly contagious disease like typhoid or smallpox or polio...

That said, he does recommend it.

Anyway isn't the way a girl gets it is that the man carries it and gives it to her. So if you mandate the girls, you should mandate the boys get it as well? Would that make sense?

But it doesn't often cause cancer in the male....and I would guess that eventually they will change to include boys.
And the way the man gets it is that a woman carries it and gives it to him....that's what "sexually transmitted" means.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and most of the time shows no symptoms but can be passed on. In third world countries cervical cancer is the cancer that causes the most deaths in women.
Linda C

Thank you all for the thought provoking responses. The bottom line with my daughter is that she trusts my judgment to do what is best for her and if I say I think it is a good idea to have the vaccination now she will.

My son & daughter have both had the Hepatitis and Meningococcal vaccinations and all the other recommended ones, what has me hesitating on this one is the newness of it. Since they do not know if the second and third vaccinations are necessary and they do not know if a booster is needed how they can know that there are not side effects. Time and further studies will tell. That said I can not comfortably tell my daughter she should have the vaccination, but I can comfortably tell her that we will continue to read up on the vaccination and make our decision accordingly. I can also comfortably remind her of the importance to practice safe sex when the time comes.

Thank you,
Carol

Things sure can change quickly. My daughter (17 yrs old) told me she wants to have the new vaccination. She did some research and spoke to a person she job shadowed for career day. This person works in research & education in the health field, specifically immunizations and has already had her 16 year old vaccinated. Our health department is not doing them at this time, but expects to start in July; however Planned Parenthood is offering them.
Interestingly enough, today she had her Hep A & tetanus update, but did not want the one for meningitis as she needs to research it first. I'm pleased that she wants to know about these things first. Education is empowering.

She sounds like one classy lady....you can be very proud!!
Linda C

The Australian government is going to provide the vaccine for free to girls and women aged 12 to 26 starting next month. It protects against strains of HPV that cause seven out of ten cases of cervical cancer and nine out of ten cases of genital warts. www.health.gov.au/cervicalcancer

My daughter is 18. I suggested that she should have the vaccine. She told me that she didn't see the point as she was not sexually active. However, when I told her that if she gets it now, she won't ever have to worry about it again, she agreed. She will be getting vaccinated this summer.

I thought they didn't know yet if later vaccination would be required. From what I understand, she might have to worry about getting it again. Christy

I think the vaccination is a good idea.

"Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year."

Yes, the condom idea sounds great, but what happens when a woman decides to get pregnant and her husband carries HPV? He probably won't have any symptoms, so he wouldn't know. Now the woman who has been so careful has HPV and an increased risk of cancer. The virus could also affect the babies vocal cords during the delivery.

I am also on the fence about it. I do want to see my daughter protected but I am thinking about other drug company marketing that pushed medicines onto the market before they were safe - phen-phen for examle- and right now I'm inclined to think that sometimes "the second mouse gets the cheese".

Scarlett, you are confusing a drug, something that alters your body's chemistry, with a vaccine, something that imitates a disease and prompts your body to create a natural defense. The biggest "danger" is that the immunity it offers won't be life long and the shot will have to be readministered...like tetnus.
Linda C

No, I'm not confusing the two. I understand the difference. My point is that PhenPhen, just as an example, was totally okayed by the FDA and widely promoted to a lot of people, including doctors - then we found out it was totally unsafe. I just don't jump on everything that comes out right away because over the years I have seen how the pharmaceutical companies can manipulate the medical profession. And ultimately the people who pay the biggest price are the patients. If your daughter is very young, why not wait a year until we see if there really are any bad results? Of course if she is of age to be sexually active, that may mean a different choice. I'm not "against" it, just cautious.

"My point is that PhenPhen, just as an example, was totally okayed by the FDA and widely promoted to a lot of people, including doctors - then we found out it was totally unsafe."

Every drug that has ever been recalled, has been proven to be safe and effective by the FDA. All the more reason to do your research.

I would be interested to know how people feel about this vaccine 7+ years later.