Advancements in modern medicine serve to benefit the human race. The difficulty with such advancements is the differing of opinions that ensues on how to best manage these new medical miracles. The creation of a vaccine for HPV is no exception. During the course of the past several years, a fierce debate has arisen about whether to mandate this vaccination as a requirement for school attendance. It is without argument that creation of the HPV vaccine is a great advancement for modern medicine given the potential consequences to a rampant virus that this vaccine can prevent, but the decision on whether to use this vaccination on our children and young adults is best left to parents and individuals rather than a well-intentioned government mandate. …show more content…
Those who support such governmental action point to the record of accomplishment of Gardasil since hitting the market in 2006. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests, “Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered and it has an excellent safety record” (Tomljenovich & Shaw, 2012, p. 674). Others, who stand in support of a mandate, make the claim that the vaccine will reduce cost and emotional distress associated with having to endure the medical procedures involved with treating precancerous and cancerous lesions that may occur as a result of this infection. When using the vaccine in combination with routine Pap smear screenings, the potential exists to eradicate cervical cancer entirely (Vamos et al., 2008, pp.305-306). Thus far, 24 states have introduced legislation that would mandate the vaccine for young girls for school attendance with only two states, Virginia and the District of Columbia having current active mandates in place (Pegion & Zacher, 2014, p. …show more content…
The two pharmaceutical companies that produce the vaccine, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, stand to make immense profits. This raises the issue about whether laws enacted are truly to benefit our youth or are a result of the heavy lobbying efforts of these pharmaceutical giants (Pegion & Zacher, 2014, p.185).
As Gardasil was fast-tracked for approval by the FDA, pre-market trials were small and did not particularly target pre-teen girls. On the market just since 2006, there has not been a long enough period to adequately establish all the potential risks and side effects or the length of vaccine effectiveness (Tomljenovic & Shaw, 2012, pp. 674-676). These facts alone stand to suggest putting the brakes on the idea of a mandate until all unknown factors are realized to adequately protect our youth from potential harm.
HPV vaccine is without argument a great medical advancement to combating a rampant virus that has possible deadly consequences. Given the many issues and objections surrounding this vaccine, mandating administration may not be the best course of action at this time. A Nationwide public education campaign coupled with sound medical advice from practitioners will serve to allow parents and individuals to retain their freedoms of parenting and choice while still reducing the prevalence of this
In his book, Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, Paul A. Offit, M.D. presents us with a thoroughly in-depth look behind the veil of the vaccine controversy. Specifically here in the United States. Offit starts us off with the history of vaccinations giving insights into not just their creation but the controversy that has surrounded them since the beginning. We learn how these questions around safety and personal rights started and who have been the major decision makers in history. We hear about the groups and people that support vaccinations and those that do not.
Requiring vaccinations is a highly debatable topic in the United States today. An article by Ronald Bayer, “The continuing tensions between individual rights and public health,” is one of the most reliable sources in the case study. The author has a PhD from the University of Chicago and focuses his research on issues of social justice and ethical matters. Bayer has also previously been a consultant to the World Health Organization on ethical issues related to public health. This makes him very knowledgeable about the topic and a highly credible source.
However, the anti-vax lobbies and groups believe that the “risks of vaccine outweigh the benefits, despite what science says” Mrs Suthers said.. “They have a strong belief that the pharma industry or the government is out to get them” she added. Ms Stephanie Messenger talks of her concerns of vaccinating children in her recent book “Melanie’s Marvellous
As a parent of an 11 year-old daughter, you would research a lot to be sure if there is any side effect or problem with the Gardasil vaccination. Parents are responsible for their children and must be wary not to blindly follow their doctor 's recommended vaccine schedule. They cannot rely or expect their doctor to know everything. They should do their own research and ask plenty of questions about devastating effects. Although I believe vaccines are central and essential components of public health, there are two kinds of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.
On the other hand, Bihr gains an audience related advantage of safety values when she addresses the topic of protecting children from harm; Bihr explains that administering vaccines helps protect children from illnesses like the influenza virus or rotavirus. Researchers Ferdinands et al. (2014) found that the “…influenza vaccination was associated with about a three-quarters reduction in risk of influenza-related critical illness in children… Our results highlight the value of increasing the use of influenza vaccines among children” (Ferdinands et al., 2014, p. 681); while Dr. Cave’s (2014) piece, Adolescent refusal of MMR inoculation: F (mother) v F (father), adds that “A global vaccination campaign has led to a 71 per cent drop in measles-related deaths between 2000 and 2011, making a huge impact on the death rate which was estimated at 2.6 million deaths per year in the 1980s” (Cave, 2014, p. 631).
One of the previously mentioned arguments for anti-vaccers was the argument that the vaccine would cause teenagers to act more immorally. This is proven to be false when Dr. Saslow, the lead author of the cancer society’s, updated guidelines and firmly states that there is “no direct connection between the vaccine and sexual activity and no reason to suggest one.” Brody’s mention of the famous doctor effectively persuades the reader to see the truth behind the research. The mention of parents being concerned about the effects these vaccines is considered a rhetorical cannon of relationship. The supposed relationship between the vaccine and physical consequences encountered after being vaccinated is a the main elements behind the anti-vaccers argument.
Purpose: Effective vaccination is now available to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection and cause of cervical cancer. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HPV vaccination intentions among mothers of daughters with and without a history of childhood cancer, and young adult female cancer survivors, in addition to identifying the factors associated with HPV vaccination intentions. Methods: Maternal caregivers of vaccine naïve females aged 9-17 years with/without a history of childhood cancer (n = 155; daughter Mage = 12.70 years, SD = 2.65; n = 46; daughter Mage = 12.41 years, SD = 2.30, respectively) in addition to young adult vaccine naïve females aged 18-26 with/without a history of childhood cancer (n = 70; Mage = 21.6 years, SD = 2.68; n = 53; Mage = 20.7 years, SD = 2.45, respectively ) completed surveys querying HPV vaccination intentions along with
News Flash! Recent outbreaks of what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) call vaccine-preventable diseases demonstrate the effects of the anti-vaccination movement. “Antivaxxers” as they’ve come to be called, as noticed on this author's Facebook page, are a population of parents who make a conscious decision not to vaccinate their children. The goal of this paper is to shed some light on the Antivaxxers, their arguments for choosing not to vaccinate their children, and research that proves the Antivaxxers’ theories are wrong. After all, vaccines aren’t something to be concerned about, they are proven to be effective.
Vaccination is a key factor in keeping communities safe from harmful diseases, especially those that can spread easily. However, pediatric immunization policy can be debated from an ethical perspective because it concerns the role of the government and families in maintaining the health of children. I will argue that the immunization requirements with exemptions for school entrance in Washington state are ethically required because they balance the role of the government in public health and personal autonomy in the most minimally intrusive way possible. Hendrix points out that pediatric vaccination, or the policies surrounding vaccination requirements for children, can “span several public health domains, including those of policymakers,
The human papillomavirus virus (HPV) affects more than 80 percent of sexually active men and women and is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. Many types of HPV cause only minor symptoms but a few are of high-risk and can lead to cancer if left untreated. However, within the past 10 years, a vaccine called Gardasil has been created in order to help protect against four types of HPV. With this great discovery, also come significant drawbacks. Historically, vaccines have been a highly controversial topic among U.S. citizens and have been in the spotlight for many years in a negative light.
The Vaccine Controversy Vaccines have been around for years and still there is much controversy over the safety of them and if parents should have the right to choose if they have their child vaccinated. Parents and even some professionals say that the vaccines are not worth the risk. On the other hand, there is plenty of doctors and other professionals who say vaccines are very necessary and safe. Still with all the controversy over the safety of vaccines, the number of children protected from diseases and death outweigh the risk of the vaccine. Professionals, as parents of children, against the HPV vaccine believe that the vaccine is more risky and dangerous for children than the actual disease.
Some examples are that for the past several years we have heard that polio vaccine lead lymphoma and caused the AIDS epidemic, and the MMR vaccine lead to Crohn’s disease and autism. These theories, however have not bothered themselves with facts, that might be fair in the time of chiropractic’s infancy, but now, in the 20th century it is not acceptable. The lack of true information about vaccination is a struggle to the vaccination policy. A research by Kennedy et al. shows that health professionals consider that girls are empowered to make decisions about the HPV vaccine for themselves, some of them decide not to take the vaccine for the lack of information.
Unfortunately, the anti-vaccination movement is becoming increasingly popular due to individuals’ unfounded fears and imagined consequences associated with the idea of purposely inserting a disease into one’s body. However, despite one’s beliefs, vaccines are essential not only to a person’s well-being, but to the health of those around them. Mandatory vaccinations do not cause autism; rather, they save lives while upholding values of
Disease can overthrow a culture and spread like wildfire when not taken precaution against. However, there exists a fierce opposition against the mandate of vaccination by some groups of interest with the existence of adverse effects by vaccination to the human body as a reason. Although vaccination carries some health risks,
Vaccinations When it comes to vaccinations, there are many different opinions on immunizing a child, especially when that child’s parent has a strong like or dislike towards vaccinating. Immunizations have existed for at least a thousand years and as technology advances more, there are new vaccines being designed to help protect our children from contracting contagious and sometimes deadly diseases, such as Bordetella pertussis, polio, and even influenza. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools (Ciolli, 2008). Enrollment in public school requires up to date vaccinations in order to protect the children and even the adults from contracting and spreading a disease, possibly causing an epidemic.