HPV Vaccine

[stixx]

I think this comment goes a bit far and no I'm not someone that's going to argue that vaccines are somehow bad or that even younger children (like the 9 year old the OP mentioned) shouldn't be educated about sex. Instead, I think deciding to get a new vaccination should be a personal decision and not heralded as some necessary requirement in order to be a respectable member of society. In my opinion, too many things in women's health have been found to be potentially harmful (look at hormone replacement therapy for an example or certain versions of hormonal pills or the Dalcon Shield or Norplant, et cetera) and therefore one should make an educated decision about getting the vaccination for oneself instead of just going with the crowd out of guilt. Plus, this vaccination is heavily cost prohibitive. For instance, my insurance doesn't cover it (granted my insurance doesn't cover most women's health things except pregnancy - which you'd think would be more expensive for an HMO to cover but I'm digressing...)

Show me a study describing the vaccine's harmful side effects, and I'll agree with you. Until then, this is one of the most amazing breakthroughs in women's health in a long time - I'll take the multitude of medical literature supporting it over false alarms (mostly being spread by AFA types of course 😴)

I don't see anything to lose. Other than your pride and some money. What you gain, and what society gains outweighs all of that IMO. People are trying to make excuses for themselves when it's simply not neccessary.

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[armybound]

Show me a study describing the vaccine's harmful side effects, and I'll agree with you. Until then, this is one of the most amazing breakthroughs in women's health in a long time - I'll take the multitude of medical literature supporting it over false alarms (mostly being spread by AFA types of course 😴)

I don't see anything to lose. Other than your pride and some money. What you gain, and what society gains outweighs all of that IMO. People are trying to make excuses for themselves when it's simply not neccessary.

I bet they said the same about Vioxx. Sometimes it takes time to discover potential side effects.

Regarding your discussion with always: She understands her risks. She understands that, at this time, she is in the low-risk category. Should she bend over backwards to pay out of pocket for a vaccine that may or may not help her?

I would say no. When it's free, or affordable, sure, it's a great preventative tool. But as she is in the low-risk category, and can't afford the treatment at the moment, I see no reason for her to burden herself with it.

 

[Hodad]

What about the controversy w/ 9 yr olds getting it and thinking sex is OK afterwards?

Oh God! It's true! Let's stop all HIV vaccination research! It's going to cause six year olds to start humping each other in first grade! It'll be the death of family values!

Jesus Christ.

 

[SuziQ]

I definitely agree that all women should be able to get the vaccine if they so desire (and can afford it- but that's another issue.) However, why are you even debating whether you approve of your girlfriend getting it or not? I'm sure she is an adult- it's her body, her chance of getting cancer, so it's not your decision anyway.

 

[dannylee718]

Yeah, after the vaccine, maybe you'll be immune to HPV, but doesn't mean you're safe from the other thousandquadruplebazillion STDs. If someone thinks unprotected sex is OK after the vaccine, they should go to school and read a book. (jp) 😀

 

[jonathon]

My girlfeind might get the vaccine even though the only person she has had sex with is me. I was a virgin going into the relationship. So who knows what risk she is really at. Even though the cost is high (have not checked insurance yet), the long term cost benefit outweights the short term strain on our finances.

 

[MountainEM]

today my clinic in Colorado got word that VFC (vaccinations for children) are going to be paying for guardisil vaccinations. dont know if VFC is out of colorado but this means any woman age kiddo-23 that is on medicaid or uninsured will be able to get the vaccination....sweet
dave

 

[EctopicFetus]

My girlfeind might get the vaccine even though the only person she has had sex with is me. I was a virgin going into the relationship. So who knows what risk she is really at. Even though the cost is high (have not checked insurance yet), the long term cost benefit outweights the short term strain on our finances.

You might be an upstanding fella and she trusts you but she wants to be safe. Who knows what the future holds.

 

[RuralMedicine]

today my clinic in Colorado got word that VFC (vaccinations for children) are going to be paying for guardisil vaccinations. dont know if VFC is out of colorado but this means any woman age kiddo-23 that is on medicaid or uninsured will be able to get the vaccination....sweet
dave

VFC is a federal program [trivia fact: one of the only pieces of Clinton's universal health care program to go through] provided through a block grant (so there are federal guidelines that must be met but the states have a little say in how it is implemented so there is some variation from state to state). Usually VFC covers from birth through age 18. Although it is possible that CO covers up to age 23 by contributing some of their own funds [Interestingly NY state was a huge VFC fan and when the power shifted in the senate and house NYSDOH was so sure that VFC would be eliminated that they had already figured out how to continue to fund NY-VFC with NY funds. VFC still exists today as a federal program 🙂 ] HPV vaccine has been available through VFC for several months at least and we've been going back and trying to get all our 18 year olds immunized.

 

[Tenacious N]

The vaccine is definitely worth it, especially given the link between HPV and cervical cancer.

I had no idea it was $400 though. Damn that is expensive. Expensive, but worth it IMO.