02 March 2007

To HPV or not to HPV

There has been, and will continue to be, a great deal controversy in the United States over plans to require adolescent women to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV). In some cases infection with HPV can lead to cervical cancer. The existing vaccine is most effective when administered to young women in their early teens but critics feel that, since the virus is sexually transmitted, that sexual abstinence is the most appropriate means of avoiding infection. These opponents somehow believe that inoculating young women against HPV will encourage them to have sex an argument that I can only say I find to be a load of bollocks. Am I encouraged to ride my bike into a tree because I am wearing a helmet? Do cops stand in front of armed robbers encouraging them to shoot them just because they are encased in Kevlar?

To make matters worse it now seems that the rate of infection in America is at least 50% higher than formerly believed with over 7 million women between the ages of 14 and 24 infected.

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