People having trouble with HPV vaccination.

[James_D]

I was just reading my daily dose of the New scientist, when I almost aspirated my tea.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624954.500

Suddenly I was thinking of tribal elders in Africa opposing the polio vaccine, but no, it was the US. Ok, so I'm working as a doctor so I might be seeing it from a different angle, but what is the problem with a vaccine that can cure Cervical cancer, it supposedly suggest that people engage in premarital sex? Isn't it better just to get rid of a disease that cost billions to treat, and bring lots of human suffering?


JD.

[Gurm]

And you WONDER why I hate the religious right?

[Brian R.]

Yes, I wonder why you hate anything. Why waste your time?

[KvHagedorn]

I would not oppose such a vaccine unless it was proven to be harmful in some way. I don't necessarily think VD was placed on this Earth by God to wrathfully punish the promiscuous. Maybe it was, but it's not mine to decide that. Maybe he put biologists here to fight disease as well? Seems silly not to vaccinate people if you can.

[James_D]

I would not oppose such a vaccine unless it was proven to be harmful in some way. I don't necessarily think VD was placed on this Earth by God to wrathfully punish the promiscuous. Maybe it was, but it's not mine to decide that. Maybe he put biologists here to fight disease as well? Seems silly not to vaccinate people if you can.

My thoughts exacly..

JD

[Gurm]

I would not oppose such a vaccine unless it was proven to be harmful in some way. I don't necessarily think VD was placed on this Earth by God to wrathfully punish the promiscuous. Maybe it was, but it's not mine to decide that. Maybe he put biologists here to fight disease as well? Seems silly not to vaccinate people if you can.

See? Once in a while you really are on the same page as me. This is EXACTLY what I feel. "We can't vaccinate because it'll give them permission to have premarital sex" is the worst reasoning I've ever heard. What happens if they marry someone, having saved themselves, but the person they marry is a carrier? Oops!

[cjolley]

What happens if they marry someone, having saved themselves, but the person they marry is a carrier? Oops!

I don't see the problem.
If they were really worthy they would not be marrying a sinner either.
Remember, we are going for purity here.
Not trying to help people.
Get with the program.

[Umfriend]

See? Once in a while you really are on the same page as me. This is EXACTLY what I feel. "We can't vaccinate because it'll give them permission to have premarital sex" is the worst reasoning I've ever heard. What happens if they marry someone, having saved themselves, but the person they marry is a carrier? Oops!

So when Mahler says:

Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex

You don't think like: "who the hell are they to decide that a woman needs a farking license!"?

[Kurt]

I don't see the problem.
If they were really worthy they would not be marrying a sinner either.
Remember, we are going for purity here.
Not trying to help people.
Get with the program.

lol

[Kooldino]

I doubt (and hope) that the religious right doesn't stop this from getting through. If this is as common as I hear it is, then it's a huge bonus. If the religious right doesn't want it, then don't vaccinate their kids. But give "sinners" the option to if they so please.

[Dr Mordrid]

Questions about the safety of some vaccinations is not a left/right or atheist/religious issue...it cuts across party and religious lines. The problem can best be illustrated by the Thimerosal controversy.

The alleged ties between Thimerosal (a vaccine preservative which contains ~50% ethyl mercury by weight) and autism & other neurological disorders has been a big minus to the pro-vaccination community.

What brought on the controversy is that for a long time a very high percentage of youth vaccines used Thimerosal as a preservative. During the same timeframe the rate of autism jumped precipitously.

It was just a matter of time before a theoretical connection was made between the two.

That mercury is neurotoxic is unquestionable. If Thimerosal crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes neurological developmental damage in youngsters is where the crux of the arguement lies and both sides have major studies that supports them with other major studies sitting on the fence.

Since the vast majority of children will survive the childhood diseases vaccines protect against (absent resistant strains etc.) many parents are just flat unwilling to take the risk or neurological damage to their precious children.

Truth be told: while the connection isn't proven 100% I always ask for the bottle when Erik gets vaccines to see if Thimerosal is on the label.

Of course if you replace Thimerosal with another perservative you then have to also determine its efficacy and safety, so the beat goes on.

Dr. Mordrid

[cjolley]

Questions about the safety of some vaccinations is not a left/right or atheist/religious issue...it cuts across party and religious lines.
...
Dr. Mordrid

Which has what to do with this quote from the article?

In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV. "Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus.

The whole point of the article was that religious/political NOT safety issues were getting in the way of the vaccinatins.

[Dr Mordrid]

While this particular article may give the religious slant if you spend any time reading the papers from third world countries like India you'd see that the safety issue is also a major concern there.

The content of quotes by those concerned depends on who you ask and the slant the writer wants to put on his/her story.

Given that both safety and religious objections have been raised and caused people to be perhaps over-cautious shouldn't be a suprise. I'm not saying I agree with them, I just understand how they got into that place.

That some kids might feel vaccination could be a license and cause them to act irresponsibly should also not be a suprise. A false sense of security lulls kids into doing all manner of stupid things.

Look what happened to the oral sex rate among kids in the US. The rates went through the roof once Clintons indiscretions, and his defense of same, convinced young people that it "wasn't really sex"; and yes that's exactly the quote I'v heard from more kids than I care to think about.

Now pre-teen kids are organizing oral sex parties, something I (almost) wish I'd been a kid for

Dr. Mordrid

[cjolley]

...
That some kids might feel vaccination could be a license and cause them to act irresponsibly should also not be a suprise. A false sense of security lulls kids into doing all manner of stupid things.
...

That's just silly.
It's like saying that a kid.
1, as a teen remembers it was vaccinated against polio
2, has a clue what that means anyway
3, would be encouraged to swim in dirty water because of it.

[KvHagedorn]

Vaccine preservatives are very dangerous. I just lost my cat to cancer (fibrosarcoma) which I suspect was caused by vaccine additives, since I found an article about that very thing causing fibrosarcoma, and the tumors occurred not far from the vaccination site.

Doc, do you know of any way around using these chemicals?