The HPV vaccine for young women has been a subject of debate and legislation around the United States over the last few years.
First, some background: in 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against four different types of human papillomavirus (two that cause cervical cancer and two that cause genital warts). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the vaccine be given to all eleven and twelve year old girls.
Since then, different states have taken different approaches to the vaccine.
In 2007, the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia passed legislation that required girls entering the sixth grade to receive the vaccine, starting with the 2009-2010 school year. Parents or guardians do have the option of opting out of the vaccine for their daughters. Similar legislation failed to pass in other states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia.
The following states require health insurers to cover the vaccine: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Rhode Island. The series of three vaccines is expensive ($360), and at the moment, Gardasil is the only option.
Schools and/or state health departments in these states are required to provide HPV information and vaccine information: Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas, and Washington. Utah went so far as to establish a cervical cancer awareness campaign that focuses on the causes of the disease, the risks of cervical cancer, and methods of prevention.
Three states — Maryland, Minnesota, and New Mexico — ordered further study of the vaccine. So far, side effects are rare; according to a government survey, only fifty-four girls out of one hundred thousand experienced side effects like nausea, headache, dizziness, and fainting. That’s less than one percent!
Legislators and health care professionals alike hope that parents will review information about the vaccine and the risks of cervical cancer and genital warts, and make educated decisions for their daughters.