Doesn't It Make Sense to Give All Young Girls the HPV Vaccine?

It can save lives. It can prevent suffering and death from cervical cancer, genital warts and precancerous genital lesions. Rumor has it that it the vaccine, called Gardasil, causes great pain. While it is true that some can have discomfort for a day or so after receiving the shot, it is not unbearable, and not half as painful and deadly as cervical cancer.

Somehow, receiving this shot has some mothers up-in-arms, believing that giving this possibly life-saving vaccine would be like giving permission for their daughters to have illicit sex.

Statistics show that an average of 11,000 women suffer from cervical cancer each year and an average of nearly 4,000 die from the condition.

My question is...why would any mother forgo this kind of protection for a daughter? Doesn't it make sense to protect her from cervical cancer as well as other diseases

I am 15 and i got the last of three shots in September. Yes they hurt when you get the shot. It is more like a burning feeling but it only lasts for a few minutes. My arm really didn't hurt the next day but it was a little tender. I am really glad i got it i feel like that i am protected from the cancer. I know that it only protects from the top three strains but that is good enough for me.

I think that a mother would not want to give this to her child becuase she is afried of the side effects or is afired that her daughter may think that it is ok to have sex becuse she has the shot. I think that if you are open with your daughter and she know that the shot ONLY protects from the cancer then you should give it to her. I mother should go all out to make sure her child lives a long healthy life.

as a mother you want to protect your child from everything...but even something good and end up being bad for your child. Even vaccines are now being linked to autism because of the high mercury count. What is true today can be completely wrong tomorrow.

The doctor wouldn't give it to my sister. The Doctor said it only prevents a certain type of rare cervical cancer and that the vaccine can kill you so its not worth it.

It doesn't make sense because like myself, many women are tentative to receive a shot to protect against HPV when the long term risks have not been evaluated completely.

In another 20 or 30 years it will make complete sense to require it as a vaccination, but we have not seen the long term effects aside from protecting against cervical cancer.

That's just my opinion though. I do have friends who have received it who feel differently than me.

I agree with you 100%...why wouldn't you want to protect your daughter?

Judicial Watch, a conservative-leaning watchdog group, found a plausible argument against the mandatory use of the HPV vaccine -- FDA records show the vaccine killed 3 girls, and caused problems ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormalities in 18 pregnant women.

Outside of the three deaths (.pdf) -- ages 12, 19, and unknown -- adverse reactions (.pdf) in 1,637 women had been reported by May 11, 2007 in women undergoing the Gardasil vaccination. Adverse reactions range from the mild (rash, headache) to potentially serious (Guillain-Barre), although most cases presenting with Guillain-Barre were associated with receiveg the meningitis vaccine Menactra. (FDA and CDC safety warning.)

A New York Times' article from February noted that more than 20 states were considering making the vaccine "mandatory" for young girls, although parents could request that their daughter not be vaccinated. This new news may change some minds.

I will only give my Daughter something I can be 100% sure about! If this Vaccine has caused deaths.....even if they are only 3, I will not let her get it!

The only reason I would be against it is because you are basically giving your child permission to have premarital sex and isn't that a problem enough in the US?

To tell you the truth i really wish I got this shot a couple years ago. I would have never thought in my life i would ever get an std. But when i meant my husband he is the one i got it from. But i have no regrets. And yes, it does make sense to give all young girls the vaccine shot. I know years later down the road if i have a daughter I would make sure she gets it. It would definitley worth it.... to always be safe than sorry.

Why are people in this country so hung up on medications? This vaccine is not as good as you think. It does NOT really protect against cervical cancer-only a strain of it. Have you looked into this thoroughly? It doesn't really look that way. Most women will not get cancer unless its in their family already or a problem with their environment. There is altogether too much emphasis on medical doctors and their "cures". Sometimes the side effects are worse than the problem you are trying to get rid of. Do you know that the leading cause of death in the elderly is Kidney failure due to too much medication over a lifetime? Think about it before you run to a doctor for any little problem you think you "might have".

I took my step daughter to get it. You have to have two shots/doses w/in a certain amount of time from another. Of course she forgot to go when the next shot was due. So, she is probably not completely protected.

I think if you have a family history..sure.

First, we cant say how safe it is long term. The shot has only existed for something like 5-10 years and availbe publically for less than that. We cant say for sure that it wont have neg effects in the patient after20, 30 years because it hasnt been around that long.


As with any other vaccine, there is a possibiliy of becomming sick with the vaccine.

It doesnt prevent all hpv, or all cervical cancer.

and no, it is NOT persmission to have sex. I cant stand the uneducation in the people who think that way. I bet that answerer is the one who wont even teach their children the proper body part names as vagina and penis, for the same reason.

Merck's stance to make it a requirment for school was based on the money they would make, and nothing else. I think more people were concerned about that than anything.

As far as I'm concerned it is really a bit of an issue, particularly with respect to young school age girls where the Gardasil vaccine is also being promoted strongly. This vaccination cannot be taken lightly and although it is said to provide protection for upto 85% of HPV, there seems to have been an insufficient length of time (approx. 5 years) of trials to determine any likely side effects. This and the fact that the trials where conducted by the manufacturerers themselves (Merck and GlaxoSmithKline) and not an independant body, is of concern in itself! Further the age of the study group was 15 -26 years, and yet it is being promoted to girls under 15 that have yet to reach puberty. What effect is this likely to have? Who knows?
There are numerous articles on the safety and possible side effects and indeed the long term effectiveness of Gardasil to raise sufficient doubt in ones mind as to the necessity of having this particular vaccine. In all it appears that this drug was rushed through before full approval and in fact the FDA have stipulated for Merck to continue the monitoring and long term trial for girls under 15 years to confirm its safety. For us as parents there is sufficient doubt as to the safety that we postponed getting the vaccination for our daughter, until further studies and information comes to hand.

Following are some links to articles on the vaccine which you may wish to read. Ultimately it comes down to a risk evaluation of your own self and if you believe that you may be sufficiently at risk of contracting the disease and the precautions that you may need to take so as to minimise the risk.

If only if it were that cut and dry and simple.
Unfortunatley that is not the case. AND BELIVE ME WHEN I SAY the vaccine would not preven a teen or young women from having or not having sex. And that is not the reason why MOST mothers do not allow there teenage girls to have the gaurdsil vaccine. AS you stated yes it does make sense to protect her from cervical cancer as well as other diseases however its not all that easy and great. Also remember people can still get cervical cacner weather they have had the vaccine or not as the vaccine only protects against one of the many casues of cervical cancer.

Also. the guardisil vaccine is a fairly new drug. The immediate side effects are bearable and if those side effects were the only concern I would say the benefits out way the risks. However the discomfort that you speak of is not the only worry with the guardisil vaccine. AS this is a new thing there is not trials to see what happens to some one 10 20 or 30 years down the road. YEs it was approved by the FDA but they do not test for long term side effects. What if 10 years from now it is proven that girls who got this vaccine are getting stricken with sever ilnesses or other cancers as a result? Would these mothers still be happy with three decision to protect these girls from HPV? What if in a few years from now the vaccine is no longer available due to serious long term side effects that severly threaten those who have recieved the vaccine? Would it still make sense?

Many people "jump the gun" so to speak and think. I CAN BE ONE LESS!!! OF COURSE ILL GET THE VACCINE DUH WHY WOULDNT I. However they do not stop and think that this drug it very new and has not been tested for long term side effects. Life threatening conditions may occur.

to put it in simple terms we DO NOT know enough about the vaccine to be jumping on it as the bandwagon for every young woman and every young girl.

So in my opninion No it would not make sense t ogive girls the guardisil vassine. Not untill more is known about the vaccine and long term side effects. I know I would not want my daughter to be the "guinne pig" and I would therefore not take the many risks that come with it despite its benefits.

You all have very good responses. There are reasons we can all list for and against the vaccine. Keep in mind that it does NOT protect you from all cervical cancer. It only protects you from certain types, mainly caused by HPV. I am a DES daughter and had cervical cancer that the vaccine wouldn't have helped, even if it had been available. Don't brush off your yearly Pap just because you received the vaccine. You'll still need them just as regularly as if you hadn't been vaccinated.