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The HPV vaccine draws controversy

The FDA has approved Gardasil to block cervical cancer, but a new report casts doubt on how many strains it covers. And there are side effects.

By TIMES STAFF
Published March 6, 2007

Nearly half of the nation's state legislatures are considering requiring girls to receive vaccinations against the virus that causes cervical cancer, but there is a growing backlash against making the vaccine mandatory, even as negative side effects are being reported.

Gardasil is the FDA-approved vaccine that blocks the most common strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Cervical cancer kills an estimated 3,700 American women each year.

A report Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that nearly 27 percent of women ages 14 to 59 have some form of HPV, although only 3 percent have one of the strains covered by the new vaccine.

However, those strains are blamed for about 70 percent of the fatal cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that parents get the three-dose vaccination for their daughters, ideally when they're 11 and 12.

But the National Vaccine Information Center reported in February there have been negative reactions.

"Young girls are experiencing severe headaches, dizziness, temporary loss of vision and some girls have lost consciousness during what appear to be seizures," said Vicky Debold, health policy analyst for the vaccine center.

From ministers to doctors

After federal approval of Gardasil in July, legislation was introduced in numerous legislatures to make immunizations mandatory. But there is growing opposition from:

- Parents and ministers, who protest that requiring the vaccinations introduces the topic of sexual relations to young girls, because HPV is transmitted only through sexual contact.

- Some health professionals who are concerned that long-term results of the vaccine in question are not known.

- Others who believe that manufacturer Merck & Co. was too forceful, and too quick to spread lobbying dollars, in urging that use of its product be made mandatory.

The Florida Legislature was about to consider a bill doing just that - though parents could opt out of the vaccinations for their daughters - starting with the 2008 school year. Now the legislation is being redrafted to start them in 2009.

And in mid February, Merck announced it was suspending its lobbying campaign for the mandates. "It felt like there was a perception that our involvement was clouding (the) issue," said Jennifer Allen, a Merck spokeswoman.

The vaccine, however, is recommended by medical groups, including the Christian Medical Association, which stated on its Web site: "Just as we treat STDs for the good of our patients, we can also strive to prevent these diseases."

One more complicating factor: Even some parents who seek the vaccine for their daughters may be told by their physician, " 'I can't give the vaccine to your daughter because your insurance company is not paying enough to cover my costs,' " said Dr. Jill Stoller, co-chairwoman of the practice management committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Stoller has been pushing insurers to pay doctors more for purchasing and insuring their stocks of Gardasil. The series of immunizations range from $120 to $150 each, making it the most expensive vaccine pediatricians have ever dispensed.

Information from several news organizations was used in this report.

Fast Facts:

All about HPV

- Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, affecting about 20-million people at any time. Each year, there are about 6.2-million new infections, according to the federal CDC.

- People with HPV rarely exhibit any symptoms. However, some strains of the virus can carry serious consequences, causing cervical cancer and genital warts.

- About 10,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year; about 3,700 die from it.

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News

[Last modified March 6, 2007, 06:33:50]