US conservatives block cancer vaccine for girls

US conservatives block cancer vaccine for girls | * 12:22 14 May 2007 | * NewScientist.com news service | * Jim Giles

Plans to vaccinate young girls against the sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer have been blocked in several US states by conservative groups, who say that doing so would encourage promiscuity.

Advocates of the vaccine point out that the jabs work against human papillomavirus (HPV) - which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer - and are safe.

The latest data from a large clinical trial of Merck's cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, found it offered 100% protection against cervical, vulval and vaginal diseases, caused by HPV (types 6, 11, 16 and 18) and 98% protection against advanced pre-cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18 (New England Journal of Medicine: vol 356, p1915).

After around three years of the four-year trial, almost all girls who received the vaccine before being exposed to HPV 16 or 18 appear to be protected. Those who had already been exposed to the viruses received little benefit, but by vaccinating early on, perhaps at 11 years of age, most girls could be protected. ...
...
However, attempts to introduce compulsory vaccination programmes at the state level have run up against opposition. Four states – West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi and New Mexico – have rejected vaccine programmes. In Texas, governer Rick Perry suffered embarassment last month when his order requiring schoolgirls to be vaccinated was blocked by the state Senate. Only one state – Virginia – has so far passed a law requiring vaccination. ...