The HPV Vaccine: Tyranny, or a Valid Approach in Need of a Dose of Reality?

A very significant portion of a well-functioning democratic society is obtaining individuals who will be obligated by moral decision making regarding political and personal policies. This paper is going to discuss Rick Perry’s decision to mandate that all girls eleven years and older receive the HPV vaccine before entering the six grade which has caused some controversy among the people of Texas. Positive and negative features of the decision will be discussed from four different articles that help provide clarity on the matter.

This paper explores my evaluation of five articles that displays and explains the decision of Rick Perry’s 2007 executive order mandating that all girls in Texas 11 years and older receive the HPV vaccine. My evaluation of Governor Perry’s choice is sensible in way but also excessive and intrusive, to make this vaccine a burden to one sex and not the other seems sexist but this vaccine is not the only way to prevent girls and Women in the state of Texas. His decision has sparked many others to criticize the HPV vaccine should be mandatory for boys as well. This subject has created many other alternatives to his decision.

“It wasn’t left up to you to decide if you wanted it. You might be ready to risk your life by forgoing the vaccine, but society would not let you--- not because it was saving you from yourself but because it had to save others from you.” That means that the government can careless if its saving you they care about other lives in the country and want to make sure that the country is save. The government is forcing the parents to make their child have a shot that can potential kill them in the worst case scenario. Most parents don’t want to put their child in danger and hearing that they have to have their child have a shot that can kill them or cripple isn’t the news that they want to hear.

Many parents and organizations are opposed to this policy because they feel that it is an infringement on personal choice. While religious exemptions to HPV vaccination are allowed by the law, there is no built in policy for exemptions based on personal secular values. Some vegan families, for example, may feel uncomfortable vaccinating their children since animals are involved in the research and development of several vaccines, including the HPV vaccine. Individuals against animal testing, or recombinant DNA technology (Gardasil (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine) Questions and Answers, 2006) could feel uneasy about the Gardasil vaccine as well (Gardasil 9, 2014). In addition, some fear that this policy will “promot[e] promiscuity” (Marsa,

Childhood immunization is an important factor in today’s life, which is why it is important to be aware of the facts. After reading two articles, I came up with the conclusion that Ronald Bailey’s article “Refusing Vaccination Puts Others at Risk” presents a stronger argument than Sandy Reider article “The Science Is Not Settled.” One reason Ronald Bailey’s article is stronger is that Bailey has more authority than Reider. Sandy Reider who is a MD, general practitioner and primary care doctor practiced medicine in Vermont.

Should schools require students to have the HPV vaccine? Human Papilloma Virus better known as HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that has the slight chance of becoming cervical cancer. Requiring that the vaccination for HPV be administered at the age of eleven before entering school is unjust and in reality unnecessary. The vaccine only protects against HPV for four to five years. Most eleven year olds do not even think about sex, and by the time they do have sex the vaccine is no longer effective in preventing HPV. The vaccine also cost upwards to four hundred dollars making families that can not afford it have to either go into debt or avoid the vaccine. Parents should be the ones to decide wether a child gets the vaccine.

HPV is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50 percent of all sexually active men and women will get it at some point in their lives, and 20 million already have it. A vaccine is available that prevents 70% of cervical cancers that arise from sexual intercourse. The human papillomavirus is unknowingly common and is diagnosed in 10,000 women a year, causing 4,000 deaths per year (“HPV Question and Answers”). If we take the responsibility to vaccinate young girls and boys, to be safe, we can eliminate many unnecessary deaths. This vaccine is a great discovery that should be put to good use, the HPV vaccine should be mandated in young teens everywhere.

The information provided by student Cheryl Gordon pertains to today’s society. The world is getting smaller therefore the risk of contracting an illness increases significantly. Government officials have created many reforms in order to make the necessary and positive changes to have at least the majority of children vaccinated before they enter the school system (Capron, 2015). These precautions have been mandated due to the increase research of the benefits of vaccinations. Children that young are more susceptible of contracting more illnesses. This is why it is important for them to be vaccinated against preventable diseases. One example is the recommendation for routine HPV vaccination for females 11-12 years of age (Klein & Luedtke,

Adams lacks concrete data in supporting his facts and statements within his article, he doesn’t cite any professional studies to give concession to his stance, and he is basically basing all his information on assumptions. Adams provides no pros in his writing in regard to the vaccine, just negatives and what other major problems the ruling would bring about in the future. The reader would be lead to believe his article was an argumentative one.

Public health is a main issue that a government is concerned about. It has established a variety of policies associated with public safety in order to promote the welfare of the entire population, protect people from being infected by diseases, and provide access to safety and health care for people. For several decades, all 50 states had required parents to immunize their children against various diseases as a requirement before entering public schools (Kitch E, et al), and the courts had already found that the mandatory vaccination statues for schoolkids are constitutional. As a result, the government has struggled finding a balance between protection of the public’s health and individual rights to mandatory vaccination laws since the policies became intrusive in our lives.

The benefits of receiving the HPV vaccine is according to the CDC (2017) is that it prevents genital warts and cancer is sexually active individuals. This is highly important because the infection of HPV can lead to cancer in the individual. According to the NIH National Cancer Institute (2016), states that all three of the available HPV vaccines that are out on todays market prevent HPV infection on HPV type 16 and 18. These two types of HPV are considered to be at extremely high risk for cervical cancer (NIH National Cancer Institute, 2016). The vaccine Gardasil specifically prevents HPV type 6 and 11 from giving an individual genital warts (NIH National Cancer Institute, 2016). Gardasil 9 vaccine prevents the same HPV types as Gardisal plus the following other HPV types 31, 33, 45, 52, and 48, which are considered to be high risk types for causing cancer (NIH National Cancer Institute, 2016). The third vaccine Cervarix, is no longer used in the United States to administer to patients (CDC, 2016).

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a killer. It is an awful disease that is the culprit of many deaths each year. We have the means for its prevention, yet HPV vaccination for girls is a controversial topic to some. This controversy carries over to the current question on whether or not males should also be vaccinated. The issue is starting to play a huge role in the media; Fox news recently broadcasted a story on male HPV vaccinations. This story makes clear the benefits that would come from vaccinating males, including a statement from the Center for Disease Control that, “The HPV vaccine will afford protection against certain HPV-related conditions and cancers in males, and vaccination of males with HPV may also provide indirect protection

Today, more and more parents are making the decision not to vaccinate their children because they believe that vaccinations are unimportant or ineffective. In just the past five years, two year olds’ up-to-date rates in Oregon have dropped up to 5% for some vaccines. In Multnomah County, only 72% of female adolescents have received at least one human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, and only 54% among males. Unlike the HPV vaccine, the tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Tdap) vaccine is required for attendance at school above 7th grade in Oregon. However there are ways to be exempted from such requirements, and many parents are doing so (Oregon Health Authority). Diseases or disease-causing bacteria are still found in the United States and

The HPV vaccine has always been controversial. When the vaccine first debut in 2006, many parents felt that the vaccine was only for sexually active teens, and their children did not fit that mold. Others felt that the vaccine was dangerous and refused to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, the stigma around the HPV vaccine still stands.

Human Papillomavirus Infection (HPV) Vaccine is by far one of the most controversial vaccinations in the world. With the virus affecting one in every four which is approximately eighty million people. While most people never experience any symptoms from this sexually transmitted disease, others are not so lucky. Some of the most common health issues that this virus can cause include cervical cancer, cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils, and genital warts. Like other virus’ HPV also has different types of the virus with some being low risk to high risk. There are over one-hundred types of HPV but some of the ones that actually cause symptoms are HPV-6 and HPV-11 which