Strollerderby

I don't think I'll be vax'ing my daughter with the hpv vaccine when she's older - and not because I'm moralizing about teen sexuality or anti-vax.  I believe that safer sex (condoms) and pap smears are the best way to address HPV.  

HPV can still be spread even with condom use.  This vaccine helps prevent cancer. Even if you daughter practiced safe sex that does not ensure that her partner always has.  I will definitely have my daughter vaccinated when the time comes.  Why not?

My daughter is three, and as soon as she can get the vaccine, she's going to. It's silly to risk infection when there are obvious (early) prevention remedies. And if it is approved for males, my son will be on that list, too.

HPV can spread through skin to skin contact, no sexual penetration is needed. Why risk cancer?Every woman I know that has been tested for HPV? Has it. Including me. And I've always practiced safe sex.  My daughter (who is 19 months old) will get the vaccine as soon as she is old enough.

I also contracted HPV, also practiced safe sex.  As someone who had to have a solid chunk of her cervix removed as treatment, I'm getting my daughter vaccinated as soon as possible.  I've been fortunate enough in both my pregnancies to have avoided cerclage, but I know others who weren't so lucky because they had the same kind of treatment as I did.

I read an article somewhere recently (maybe on Blogher?) that said that some fear the Gardasil vaccine may INCREASE cervical cancer rates because women will think they are immune and either stop practicing safe sex and/or skip their pap smears.

I had a large chunk of my cervix removed last summer because of HPV.  So I do think boys need to be vaccinated as well.  But I would prefer the vaccine be around a little longer before I get it for my daughter.

There is a huge underground movement in large cities who have an informed homosexual community that are vaccinating men. Now, this use is off-label but it clearly makes sense. Also, there are studies underway (at the university I attend) which look at the vaccine and it's uses in boys.

When I got vaccinated ( it hurt) the medical staff made it very clear that this was in no way shape or form a substitute for a routine Pap. They teach us critical thinking skills so that we can question all "authority." Make sure you understand the motivation behind the nay-sayers and anti-vaccination groups. Find out all the information the FDA and CDC has to have in order to approve and recommed a new drug. I'd rather trust them than some idiot neighbor or family member with a hidden agenda,lack of knowledge or a general paranoia about the establishment.

Anyone who allows their children to get this shot is going to be very remorseful in the future. Read the latest research on the shot controversy finding that in some people the shot actualy agrevaites the user and can create cancerous lesions. People are far to trusting of government. This article is so biased towards getting the shot. Cervical cancer is pretty rare but the side effects from the shots can be pretty dangerous too. I'll take my chances with mother nature.

Men can also get some rare forms of cancer from HPV, like penile cancer.

Cervical cancer may be fairly rare, but genital warts are not.  And anyone who's had them frozen off on the inside -- after getting a scary abnormal pap result -- would agree it's pretty awful.  Especially since, as many people have mentioned, you can get HPV while practicing safe sex.  I did, just like lots of others on the board.  And the guy I was with had no idea he was a carrier.

I have to say, I really don't get the controversy.  No matter the age of your daughter when she gets the vaccination, she will someday be intimate with a man.  And that man is very likely to have HPV and not know it, and he will almost certainly pass the virus along.  

This isn't the measles or whooping cough; this is cancer.  Bad stuff.  Why wouldn't you protect your child while you can?  I know vaccinations have a bad rap these days, but they've eliminated entire diseases from our lives.  I'm going to vaccinate my daughter, and if I ever have a son, I'll vaccinate him, too.  

We vaccinate newborns for Hepatitis, which is primarily transmitted by sexual contact and sharing needles among intavenous drug users, not really newborn activities.  The only person I've heard complain about that vaccine was a crunchy-granola anti-vaccine blogger from Seattle.  Why don't the concervative christians mind that?

If you're worried about sending a pro-sex message to kids (I'm not, but, whatever), don't tell them what the shot is for.  I don't think most kids really know or care how rubella and polio are tranferred.  Why would they think this shot is any different than any other shot, unless you or your doctor makes a point of telling them.

I also contracted HPV while using condoms (with my now-husband, then my boyfriend) and while I was lucky enough not to get the strain of HPV that causes cancer, I did get huge, awful genital warts. And when those were removed, they left scar tissue that took years to heal, resulting in painful sex for a long, long time. Even now, my husband and I have to be very careful or I'm sore for days. I have to point out that Gardasil does NOT vaccinate against all kinds of HPV! So you could get the vaccination and still get HPV.

I'm lucky, my boys are young enough that it will be several years before I have to make a decision about a shot for them. By then, we will have several years of data about the shot. I don't like using new vaccinations; there is a lot of room for problems. But HPV is awful, too. If it turns out that the shot is pretty innocuous, then yes, I will have our boys get the shot so that they will not pass it on to future partners, as my husband did (unknowingly) to me.

I will not be vaxing my daughter when the time (age) comes.  In the Jan-Feb issue of Mothering magazine (mothering.com) page 29, there is an article called "GARDASIL adverse events on the rise" and says the following:

"Gardasil, Merck & Co's vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to cervical cancer, went on sale in June 2006 after fast-track approval by the Food and Drug Administration.  Since then, as of the end of August 2007, the number of Gardasil-related adverse events recorded by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has grown to 3,779, including EIGHT deaths.  During July & August 2007, 28 and 26 percent , respectively, of the adverse events reported in VAERS were related to Gardasil."

Aside from this article, I don't believe anyone has looked at the serious adverse effects of this vaccine (as with others).  I'm by no means anti-vax, but I am anti-adverse effects (read: death) when it comes to my daughter.  I am going to wait till more improvements are made and more is known of the vaccine before I run out and get it myself or for my daughter.  I feel right now we're just padding Merck's pockets (and the FDA's).

From the CDC website, accounting for the four reported deaths as of May 8, 2007:

"There also have been four deaths reported among females who received the HPV vaccine: One involving a blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism); one involving inflammation of the heart muscle due to influenza; one from a blood clot; and one from multiorgan system failure due to influenza infection unrelated to vaccination. Preliminary data indicate that the two women who died of blood clots were taking birth control pills, and blood clots are a known risk associated with birth control pills. All four deaths are being fully investigated but none appear to be caused by vaccination."

Additionally:

"The most common VAERS reports have been soreness where the shot was given, as was seen in the clinical trials before the vaccine was licensed. There also have been some cases of fainting after vaccination. This also has been found with other vaccines given to adolescents. Many people have a fainting episode at some point in their lives and there are many potential causes."

So I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the numbers of adverse events reported.  It's true that clinical trials of Gardasil have only tracked subjects for five years, and follow-up studies in a broader population are important.  But as Hannah points out, there is a very good chance of a woman's getting HPV during her lifetime and the vaccine prevents, with 100% effectiveness, the four types most likely to be seriously harmful.  

So while there may be some unknown risks associated with the HPV vaccine, these ought to be weighed against the substantial KNOWN risks that unvaccinated women face.