Group Calls For Routine HPV Vaccination For Girls

[The Straight Story]

Group Calls For Routine HPV Vaccination For Girls

POSTED: 11:54 am EDT June 29, 2006

ATLANTA -- Taking up a potentially explosive 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.

Gardasil, made by Merck & Co., is the first vaccine specifically designed to prevent cancer. Approved earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration for females ages 9 to 26, it protects against strains of the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and genital warts.

http://www.local6.com/health/9446617/detail.html

[KyuzoGator]

1. But won't that make teenagers have sex?

That's what my Christofascist talking point says.