Mandatory “cancer” vaccine misleading

Finding a cure for cancer is the archetypal vision of idealistic children and the lifelong challenge of medical scientists.

So when drug-maker Merck & Co. touts the world’s first cancer vaccine and state governments jump at the chance to make it mandatory, what could explain the ensuing opposition and controversy?

Simple. The debate is rife with sex, drugs and money.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Merck’s Gardasil in June.

Marketed as a cervical cancer vaccine, the immunization actually protects against four strains of human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease responsible for almost 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases and about 90 percent of genital warts cases.

State Rep. Edna Brown, D-Toledo, announced last week she plans to introduce a bill that would require Ohio girls going into sixth grade to receive the vaccine. Parents can opt their daughters out of the three-shot series for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

This is the wrong approach for three reasons.

First, vaccinating against an STD sends the wrong message. While abstinence is ideal and abstinence programs have been shown to be effective, parents must accept the possibility their young daughters could engage in sexual activity without their knowledge.

Nevertheless, in the immature minds of middle school girls, removing the risk of contracting HPV could have the negative effect of encouraging sexual activity.

Right or wrong, fear of consequences is a strong motivation to avoid promiscuity.

Second, Gardasil has been on the market less than a year. Though lab results show it is practically 100 percent effective, the long-term effects are still unknown.

The period of protection the vaccine provides is also limited to four years. Would it be necessary to inoculate students again when they reach 10th grade, and what would be the effect?

The case for making the vaccine mandatory is a knee-jerk reaction to the excitement of a cure for cancer, but it lacks the strength of support years of public use can provide.

Third, at $360 a dose, the cost to immunize every sixth-grade girl in Ohio would exceed $56 million a year. The money has to come from somewhere.

Adding to the controversy, Merck & Co. announced last week it would suspend its lobbying efforts, even as 33 states and the District of Columbia debate bills to require, fund or educate the public about Gardasil.

A cancer vaccine is a wonderful breakthrough, and the potential to prevent the deaths of 3,700 cervical cancer patients each year makes Gardasil deserving of promotion and further study.

But there are better ways to make that happen than requiring the vaccine for young girls.
Instead of allowing parents to opt their daughters out of a mandatory immunization, legislators should make it available to parents who want it, having them opt-in.

Lawmakers should make the vaccine more affordable by providing incentives or tax breaks to insurance companies that cover it at little or no cost to their members.

They also should make it available free of charge to women 18 and older without parental consent.

Most importantly, parents should exercise their roles as the first line of defense against cervical cancer by teaching their children about STDs and the risks of premarital sex.