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Sarah Cornia

BIOL 1090
Taking Sides
Issue #11 Should Vaccination for HPV be Mandatory for Teenage Girls?
Taking Sides #1
Human papillomavirus is the #1 sexually transmitted infection in the United States. 26.8
percent of females age 14-24 have an HPV infection. HPV is directly connected to cervical
cancer, the second most common cancer among women. 274,000 women die from cervix cancer
every year. The vaccination for HPV has caused controversy, one side for mandatory vaccination
of teenage girls and one side against it. In Taking Sides Health science professor Joseph E.
Balog states that compulsory vaccination for HPV is justified on moral, scientific and public
health grounds. For the other side, law professors Gail Javitt, Lawrence Gostin and physician
Deena Berkowitzs argue that having a mandatory vaccination is a premature action and that the
long term effects of the vaccine are unknown.
Pro vaccination arguments make a startling comparison to the Polio vaccine. Thousands
of children were being paralyzed or killed by Polio until the vaccine was created and made
mandatory. Because of that vaccination we do not have to worry about a Polio epidemic
anymore. Making this comparison can be eye opening for those against the HPV vaccine. Sadly
there are other epidemics to worry about, the Center for Disease Control estimates that 3.2
million adolescent girls have STIs and 18.3 percent of those are HPV. HPV related cancers have
a surprisingly low mortality rate, due to screening and other medical advancements, and that
makes people think that HPV is not an important enough issue to call for a mandatory vaccine
and making that decision would be premature. But even with a lower mortality rate and the fact
that the vaccine may not prevent all HPV infections, thousands of lives could be saved if every
woman was given the vaccine before they became infected, isnt it worth it?
Another concern that Nay-Sayers have is that the long term effects of the HPV vaccine
are unknown, they are afraid that a mandatory vaccine could lead to mass recall. The studies of
patients that were given the vaccine were followed up on for months. Even now though the HPV
vaccine has been on the market for years with no recall.
Everyone has the right to choose, it is part of being an American. Rights have been given
to Americans and freedom to choose is one of them. Some individuals dont want their right to
choose taken away from them and that is why they disagree with the mandatory HPV
vaccination. If you were given the choice wouldnt you choose to agree with saving someones
life? There is concern for those adolescents who will need the vaccine but do not receive it
because of a parents choice. Some parents believe that their child will never need the HPV
vaccine, but that is something they can never know for sure. If the vaccine was mandatory then it
would not be the parents choice anymore and everyone who needs the vaccine will have it.
No one wants their right to choose taken away but when lives are at stake public safety
takes the front seat. A mandatory HPV vaccine could make HPV a thing of the past and it would
take a chunk out of one of humanitys biggest enemies, cancer.

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