Panel backs HPV vaccine for young girls

[Triana]

I bet some Xtian Extremeist/American Taliban heads are exploding over this one...
_ _ _ _ _

By MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 44 minutes ago

ATLANTA - Taking up a sensitive issue among religious conservatives, an influential government advisory panel Thursday recommended that 11- and 12-year-old girls be routinely vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also said the shots can be started for girls as young as 9, at the discretion of their doctors.

The committee's recommendations usually are accepted by federal health officials, and influence insurance coverage for vaccinations.

...

Health officials estimate that more than 50 percent of sexually active women and men will be infected with one or more types of HPV in their lifetimes. Vaccine proponents say it could dramatically reduce the nearly 4,000 cervical cancer deaths in the United States each year.

The vaccine is considered most effective when given to girls before they become sexually active. About 7 percent of children have had sexual intercourse before age 13, and about a quarter of boys and girls have had sex by age 15, according to government surveys.

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MORE:

http://tinyurl.com/oh6n3

[kenny blankenship]

1. How can prevention of a fatal illness through a shot be controversial?

Why should people who are so insane as to call a safe effective HPV vaccine "a sensitive matter" be allowed to vote?

Why don't the headlines ring out from coast to coast:

Religious conservatives want your teenage daughters to die of cervical cancer to please their God.

[MissB]

2. IIRC, that is why they grouped the MMR shots together

as one - because some religious folks were opposed to the Rubella vaccination.

[Moderator]

3. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2363074