Quoted Text

NEW YORK STATE
State could mandate HPV vaccine
Shot prevents virus that causes some forms of cancer
BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter

highlights from article:

   In the class she teaches on sexually transmitted infections, Carol Stenger asks her students to tell her what they know about diseases such as gonorrhea, herpes and chlamydia.
    But the sexually transmitted infection they’re most familiar with, she said, is genital human papillomavirus, or HPV.
    “They can tell me the name of the vaccine that prevents it,” said Stenger, coordinator for health promotion at the counseling center at the University at Albany. “They’ve seen the commercials for the vaccine. Many of them have had it. They’re very knowledgeable about HPV’s link to cervical cancer.”
    
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
    In New York, two bills seek to make HPV vaccination more prevalent.
    One bill would mandate the HPV vaccine for schoolchildren. The other bill would permit women younger than 18 to receive the vaccine without parental consent.
    Both bills have been referred to legislative committees. The HPV mandate bill lacks a sponsor in the state Senate.
    “This is a pretty remarkable landmark in women’s health,” said Mary Applegate, associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Public Health at the University at Albany. “This is the first time there’s been a vaccine to prevent cancer.”
    Applegate said she supports mandating the HPV vaccine. Though more people are aware of the vaccine and open to the idea of getting it, “we haven’t reached the level of penetration we’d like to see,” she said. “A mandate is the most effective way to get the numbers to where they ought to be. ... While it’s optional, an awful lot of people will opt not to get it.”
  
    Family Planning Advocates of New York State supports the parental consent bill.
    “We want to make sure all youths have access to the vaccine,” said Tracey Brooks, the organization’s president and CEO. “There are situations where youths are not able to discuss the vaccine with their parents.”
    
DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS
    Anti-vaccination groups oppose both the mandate bill and the bill that would allow minors to receive the vaccine without parental consent.
    Bayport resident Rita Palma, who is affiliated with two anti-vaccination groups, My Kids My Choice and New Yorkers for Vaccination Information and Choice, called the mandate proposal “reckless and irresponsible. Why would you need this vaccine for school? HPV is not fl oating around in the air.” She said the vaccine can cause adverse effects, such as fainting. Palma said parents need to know whether their child receives the HPV vaccine “in the event that there’s an adverse event.”
    “What they’re offering these young ladies is a false sense of security,” Palma said. “They’re too immature to understand the implications of the shot and what it’s actually affording them.”
    
CONTROVERSIAL MEASURES
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Gardisil set off a firestorm of controversy.
    Those opposed to the vaccine argued that making the vaccine available would send the message that premarital sex is OK. Some groups, such as the conservative Family Research Council, maintained that they were not opposed to the vaccine but that they opposed state mandates.
    The New York State Catholic Conference is opposed to both bills “from a parental rights standpoint,” said Dennis Poust, a spokesman for the organization.
    “We don’t oppose the vaccine,” he said. “But cervical cancer is not communicable in casual settings the way polio is. Parents should make [the decision to vaccinate], not the government. A public health risk is the only time parent rights should be overruled.”
    As for allowing minors to receive the vaccine without parental consent, “children wouldn’t necessarily know their medical history,” Poust said. “Parents really have to be involved.”
    
    Gardisil is also available for boys and men between the ages of 9 through 26 to protect against genital warts.
    At least 50 percent of men and women will get infected with HPV at some point in their lives, but most of the time the body’s immune system will fight it off, according to the CDC.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00101&AppName=1

Our elected officials can't balance the budget but instead they try to shove more mandates down our throats. It's long past due to throw these out of touch, arrogant, big government career politicians out of office.

If the vaccine is so good, why do they have to mandate it?

I'd have to believe that the autism advocates will be against this since the majority of parents are against most vaccines.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!

I bet they are looking for a deal for the contracts/pensions/health insurance benefits etc......the government can 'mandate' all the crap it wants to force a market/company to make more $$ while at the same
time using that same company as 'the bad guy' so the politicos look like the good guys,,,,and NYS is very adept at doing this.....

Atlas Shrugged and the sheople walked off the cliff.....

MORE RESEARCH FIRST........