Arguments for and Against Mandatory Vaccination
Mandating the HPV Vaccination: A Controversial Debate
Background:
The Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the virus responsible for cervical cancer. It is one the most common viral sexually transmitted infections. A vaccine was approved in 2006 that is effective in preventing the types of HPV responsible for 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. Proposals for routine and mandatory HPV vaccination of girls have become sources of controversy for parents of school-aged youth, legislators, members of the medical community, and the public at large (Cooper et al. 2010).
Evidence Based Arguments against Mandatory HPV Vaccination
Childhood immunizations, such as measles, chicken pox, and polio, are mandatory for school-aged youth and are required because of their highly contagious nature, especially in settings where people congregate in large numbers (De Jong and Bouma, 2001). Therefore, parents question whether there is justification for mandating that children be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus, one that can only be transmitted through sexual behavior (Cooper et al. 2010). Moreover, the vaccine only protects against the high-risk HPV types responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. This incomplete protection does not reduce susceptibility to the other HPV types that cause the remaining 30% of cervical cancers and will still require females to undergo yearly cervical cancer screenings and to practice other preventive measures of reducing STI exposure (American Social Health Association, 2006). Therefore, parents believe that mandating the HPV vaccine for girls of school age is an unnecessary action in response to a promiscuous but preventable behavior (Gottvall et al. 2011).
Yet, another argument against the vaccine’s mandatory use is that there are too many unknowns regarding the HPV vaccine such as side effects and long-term effects. Advocates against mandatory vaccination also believe there has not been enough time for science to ascertain
Background:
The Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the virus responsible for cervical cancer. It is one the most common viral sexually transmitted infections. A vaccine was approved in 2006 that is effective in preventing the types of HPV responsible for 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. Proposals for routine and mandatory HPV vaccination of girls have become sources of controversy for parents of school-aged youth, legislators, members of the medical community, and the public at large (Cooper et al. 2010).
Evidence Based Arguments against Mandatory HPV Vaccination
Childhood immunizations, such as measles, chicken pox, and polio, are mandatory for school-aged youth and are required because of their highly contagious nature, especially in settings where people congregate in large numbers (De Jong and Bouma, 2001). Therefore, parents question whether there is justification for mandating that children be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus, one that can only be transmitted through sexual behavior (Cooper et al. 2010). Moreover, the vaccine only protects against the high-risk HPV types responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. This incomplete protection does not reduce susceptibility to the other HPV types that cause the remaining 30% of cervical cancers and will still require females to undergo yearly cervical cancer screenings and to practice other preventive measures of reducing STI exposure (American Social Health Association, 2006). Therefore, parents believe that mandating the HPV vaccine for girls of school age is an unnecessary action in response to a promiscuous but preventable behavior (Gottvall et al. 2011).
Yet, another argument against the vaccine’s mandatory use is that there are too many unknowns regarding the HPV vaccine such as side effects and long-term effects. Advocates against mandatory vaccination also believe there has not been enough time for science to ascertain
References: Cooper Robbins, S. C., Bernard, D., McCaffery, K., Brotherton, J., Garland, S., & Skinner, S. R. (2010). “Is cancer contagious?”: Australian adolescent girls and their parents: Making the most of limited information about HPV and HPV vaccination. Vaccine, 28(19), 3398-3408. De Jong, M. C. M., & Bouma, A. (2001). Herd immunity after vaccination: How to quantify it and how to use it to halt disease. Vaccine, 19(17-19), 2722-2728. DiMario, F., Hajjar, M., & Ciesielski, T. (2010). A 16-year-old girl with bilateral visual loss and left hemiparesis following an immunization against human papilloma virus. Journal of Child Neurology, 25(3), 321-327. Gottvall, M., Tydén, T., Larsson, M., Stenhammar, C., & Höglund, A. T. (2011). Challenges and opportunities of a new HPV immunization program. Vaccine, 29(28), 4576-4583. Kyrgiou, M., & Shafi, M. I. (2009). HPV vaccine. Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine, 19(1), 26-28. Mah, C. L., Deber, R. B., Guttmann, A., McGeer, A., & Krahn, M. (2011). Another look at the human papillomavirus vaccine experience in canada. American Journal of Public Health, 101(10), 1850-1857. Perkins, R. B., Pierre-Joseph, N., Marquez, C., Iloka, S., & Clark, J. A. (2010). Parents’ opinions of mandatory human papillomavirus vaccination: Does ethnicity matter? Women 's Health Issues, 20(6), 420-426. Pruitt, S. L., & Schootman, M. (2010). Geographic disparity, area poverty, and human papillomavirus vaccination. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38(5), 525-533. Ramet, J., Esso, D., Meszner, Z., & , . (2011). Position paper—HPV and the primary prevention of cancer; improving vaccine uptake by paediatricians. European Journal of Pediatrics, 170(3), 309-321. Women in Government. (2004). The Oncology Policy Resource Center. Retrieved from: http://www.womeningovernment.org/oncology