Mandatory HPV Vaccinations: Silliness, and Sense

Talk about being on the right side for the wrong reasons. Several states throughout the U.S. are contemplating making the vaccine Gardasil mandatory for all pre-teen girls. The drug, developed by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, Inc, blocks approximately 70% of the viruses that cause cervical cancer, a disease that kills over 3,700 women annually in the United States and 260,000 worldwide, and as an added bonus, also protects against 90% of genital warts. There is one catch, however: HPV, the virus in question, is… (insert your own gasp here) a sexually transmitted disease! Because of this, several Conservative Christian organizations declared opposition to the mandatory vaccinations, fearing that if their daughters are inoculated against an STD, it could promote promiscuity.

Two words come to mind upon hearing that rationale: "knee-jerk", and "oh come on, you’re not serious, are you?" Okay, the second one is an eight-word phrase. Still, the religious opposition is bizarre, akin to refusing a lung cancer vaccination, if such a thing existed, for fears it could encourage smoking, or demanding people not wear seat belts for fear it could promote reckless driving. The idea that young Christian girls are suddenly going to start sleeping around because they got vaccinated against cervical cancer isn’t even in the orbit of the planet we call reality, to put it mildly. I’m sure every teenage male on the planet has, at some point, received a "here is why I don’t want to start having sex" speech. And I am equally sure that I could count on one hand the number of females who included, "I could catch one of the hundred-plus types of human pappillomavirus and develop cervical cancer later in life," in their list of reasons for not having sex. Face it: as a way of scaring people into not having sex, HPV is just not popular. And with AIDS, syphilis, herpes and gonorrhea still around, there are plenty more ways to freak out teenagers. The loss of a single obscure virus shouldn’t be a major blow to the abstinence crowd.

If you read the first sentence in this article, you should be expecting a big "however" any second now. So here it is: the Christian groups’ rationale for opposing mandatory HPV vaccines is silly. However, they are absolutely right in the opposition itself. In cases where there is a serious public health hazard, mandatory vaccinations can be justified. The famous MMR vaccination for measles, mumps, and rubella is one example of a successful inoculation campaign, having almost completely wiped out those diseases in the United States. But cervical cancer, although a problem, is hardly the same as a dangerously contagious disease that threatens to overwhelm hospitals if it gets out of control. Don’t get me wrong: I think girls should get the vaccination, as long as doctors recommend it. If the drug is safe, and there is no reason to believe it isn’t, there doesn’t seem to be any good reason not to get it. But that doesn’t mean the government should force it on anybody.

States that are considering a mandatory vaccination policy ought to follow the lead of New Hampshire. New Hampshire offers the vaccine free for girls aged 11 to 18, but administers them on a voluntary basis. The result: the vaccine is so popular that they are having trouble keeping enough supply to meet the demand. It appears that, when given the choice, most people play it safe with the health of their children. That’s logical. As for the people who think that their daughters will suddenly become sex fiends after getting vaccinated: chances are the law won’t deter them very much. After all, their daughters are Christian. They won’t have sex.