The Food and Drug Administration today approved a vaccine for cervical cancer, the second-leading cause of death among women around the world.
The FDA says vaccines are most effective when they immunize enough people so that the pathogen disappears. The New York Times reports that a Centers for Disease Control committee will likely recommend that the vaccine, Gardasil, be mandatory for all 11- to 12-year-old girls. The vaccine will only work if the cancer virus is not already present, and so is most likely to be effective if given before girls become sexually active.
If vaccination is mandatory, the federal government and states will have to decide whether to subsidize the required three $120 doses. This could cost states millions of dollars. What are the costs when someone contracts cervical cancer, however (treatment, loss of work, etc.)? What are the tradeoffs (other subsidized vaccines, other state programs)? No simple answers.
One simplistic take on it, though: Some conservative groups, such as “Focus on the Family,” are calling for the vaccine not to be mandatory, because abstinence is the best preventative. Here we go again . . . . (I realize many parents object to vaccinations because of what they believe are medical risks. That’s their choice. I just object to touting abstinence as an effective public-health policy.)
Worth keeping an eye on Gardasil news if you have daughters or might want the vaccination yourself.