HPV Vaccine

One more shot would be recommended to be added to the list of required vaccines for middle-school aged girls under a law proposed by a state legislator.

Rep. Sam Page, D-St. Louis, has proposed legislation that recommends adolescent girls receive the vaccine to prevent human papilloma virus (HPV).  The bill would also require insurance companies in the state to cover the cost of the vaccine, and for the state to pay for the shot for uninsured girls.

Page, who is a doctor in the St. Louis County community of Creve Coeur, said the legislation provides a chance to prevent cancer in women.

HPV has been linked to causing cervical cancer, and more than 11,000 woman are diagnosed with the cancer in the United States annually. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 27 percent of females ages 14-59 may be affected by some form of the virus.

The vaccine, called Gardasi, is given in three shots over a six-month period. The vaccine protects against four strands of the virus.  According to the CDC there are more than 30 strands of HPV, but most strands do no have any symptoms and go away without any treatment.

"There are about 30 types of the virus that can be sexually transmitted, this vaccine will prevent four major strands of the virus, two of the strands cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, and two cause 90 percent of genital wart diagnoses," said Mary Kogut, vice president of patient services of Planned Parenthood at the St. Louis region.

According to Kogut the shot can be quite costly, around $138 per shot.

Page said allowing a parent to opt-in to the idea of having their daughter vaccinated is less controversial that mandating the shot and giving parent's the right to opt out.  

Critics of the proposed legislation say sixth-grade is too young to get the vaccine and that it might lead to engaging in sexual activities at a younger age.  

Five other states are considering similar legislation this year: Kansas, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan. 

Texas governor, Rick Perry, recently mandated that all sixth-grade girls receive the vaccine starting in 2008. The Texas legislature is currently working on a bill that would reverse this executive order.

Work with the story

• Talk to the nurse at your school-discuss her medical knowledge on the shot
• Create an info box about basic information on the vaccine: who makes it, how many doses are needed, potential side effects, how the vaccine was created
• Locate local organizations that provide the shot to girls
• Talk to female students in your school about how they would feel about getting the shot
• What does your school provide in health education class? Do they discuss HPV?
• Create a graphic on the HPV vaccine