Is the widespread hpv vaccination of teenage girls a good idea? essay

In today’s society individuals can be affected by a number of different viruses and infections. A virus is defined as “ various numbers of submicroscopic parasites that can infect any animal, plant, or bacteria and often lead to very serious or even deadly diseases”. One of the most widespread viruses alive today is the Human Papillomavirus commonly known as HPV. HPV can be spread during any kind of sexual encounter even without penetration; it is most frequently spread by skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity with the penis, scrotum, vagina, vulva, or anus of the infected individual.

There are more than a 100 different types of HPV viruses, which can be considered “ high risk” or “ low risk” and often an HPV infection causes genital warts, anal warts, pre-cancerous lesions, and cancers in the cervix, anus, and other genital areas. HPV is now believed to be the leading cause of cervical cancers in women today. Fortunately in Canada there are 2 types of HPV vaccines provided for females aged 9-26; Gardasil, and Cervarix. Vaccinations have reported to be 98% effective, and are expected to protect against HPV induced cancers. Young women are often encouraged by the medical community, television commercials, and ads promoting the use of these vaccines to prevent cancers. However many adverse affects can be traced back to getting this HPV vaccination, and one may question if the vaccine to prevent HPV induced cancers is as effective as it is ineffective, and at what cost. In the past few years there have been many questions concerning HPV vaccinations and their use. In the following paragraph it will be presented that HPV vaccinations have proven to be safe, effective, and necessary in many ways.

Often individuals have doubt about HPV vaccines because of reported adverse affects, and safety concerns. Nonetheless adverse affects after the HPV vaccinations have no direct link to the vaccination itself. In the article Quadrivalent HPV vaccination reactions: More hype than harm by Douglas R. J. a case of a young women 21 years of age is outlined. She visited a hospital emergency department “ complaining of a ‘ funny feeling’ in the skin overlying the left deltoid muscle, approximately 2 hours after receiving a 0. 5 mL intramuscular dose of quadrivalent human papillomavirus HPV) vaccine (Gardasil).

There were no other symptoms”. Cases like these lead individuals to believe that the “ funny feeling” is a cause of the vaccination. However that feeling is not related to the vaccination in any sort of way it is actually the result of error in the way the vaccine was injected.

This is a common error that may occur with any kind of vaccine, even a vaccine as harmless as the flu shot. The adverse effects reported after the HPV vaccinations tend to be very minor affects that are common after any vaccination. Such as headache, irritation at site of injection, nausea, and brief soreness. In the U. S approximately 12 million doses of HPV vaccine had been distributed, and less than 7% adverse affects reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) were classified as serious.

The report included 15 deaths following the vaccination, 10 of which lacked information to analyze the cases thus no casual relationship could be made. It was also discovered in lab tests when “ 10 quadrivalent HPV vaccine recipients and 7 placebo recipients died during the trial period”. None of these deaths showed any common relationship between the patient’s death and vaccine. In Canada 2 types of vaccines are used, Gardasil and Cervarix, it has been estimated that these vaccines are effective against 5 of the most prevalent high-risk HPV types and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by 90%.

Cervarix targets HPV types 16, and 18 responsible for 70% of cervical cancers, and Gardasil targets HPV types 6, and 11 responsible for more than 80% of genital warts. Both vaccines have been effective in preventing infection with targeted HPV type. Phase I, II and III studies have shown that both vaccines are well endured, Gardasil has been FDA-approved for cervical growth, whereas Cervarix has completed phase III clinical trials but is currently still under review by the FDA. Gardasil has been tested in thousands of women and found to be nearly 100% effective in protecting against diseases caused by the four HPV types. Side effects are very uncommon and the occurrence is about 1%. Not only are HPV vaccinations safe, and effective but in today’s society it seems that they have become necessary.

An estimated 493, 000 cervical cancer cases occur each year with 274, 000 deaths. More than 80% of cervical cancer deaths worldwide occur in developing countries. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women”. If there is a cure of this kind of epidemic, it is evident that it is necessary. Along with the pros to the HPV vaccine there are a lot of important things to consider that may harm you as a result of the vaccination. The vaccination might not be as safe, effective, and ethical as it is portrayed. There has been a common relationship found between the quadrivalent HPV vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has had 31 conventional reports of GBS after the quadrivalent HPV vaccine.

Along with that there have also been acute respiratory illness in breastfeeding infants whose mother received the vaccine within 30 days has been reported. These are vital health risks that are not worth a simple immunization. HPV vaccines also tend to be effective against the more common HPV types such as 16 and 18, however what about the rare cases of HPV. None of the vaccines currently in development contain all of the cancer-associated HPV types, and none of the vaccines provide safety for young women who have already become sexually active. The HPV vaccine is a very restricted vaccine, and does not deal with the rarer cases. Another issue that comes up is the vaccination of young girls which can be controversial, particularly for certain ethnic and religious groups. There are growing concerns about the age of vaccination, and possible encouragement of early sexual activity, perceived lack of risk, and whether to vaccinate just girls, or both genders. As a result because of its lack of safety, and all the ethical issues involved in receiving the vaccine it can be questioned if this vaccination is as effective as portrayed.

HPV vaccinations prove to be safe, effective, necessary, ethical, and all together a good idea for teenage girls. Adverse affects may occur after any type of vaccination, and the most serious side effects (such as death, or permanent disability) listed do not show a direct link between the HPV vaccination and the death. HPV vaccination themselves do not create side effects but it is the technique in which the vaccination was injected (existence of air bubbles during vaccination is not good). It is observably clear that HPV vaccinations are safe, and there is no need to be doubtful because vaccines such as Gardasil have been FDA-approved for cervical malignancy. Vaccines also prove to be a good idea because HPV infections are the leading cause of cervical cancers and are also linked to cancer of the throat, anus, oral cavity, penis, vagina, or vulva. If there is a vaccination to eliminate these cancers, it seems that the vaccination is essential and necessary. There are some ethical issues and concerns however logically the vaccination is not to promote early sexual activity but it is to make young teenage girls more aware.

It does not make sense to leave young girls naive and oblivious to the risks of being sexually active. It is smarter and safer to be knowledgeable then ignorant. There are also contradictions to taking the HPV vaccines, as there are with any other type of vaccine. It is not to be taken by women breastfeeding, or during pregnancy. Thus that is why there was acute respiratory illness in breastfeeding infants. Women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding face different complications than women who are not. In conclusion, it seems that HPV vaccinations are very effective, and actually vital to teenage girls who are considering becoming sexually active.

In today’s world we need to embrace such vaccines more, rather than criticize them. Thousands of women are being affected annually by cervical cancers as a result of HPV infections, be one less statistic, and one less women affected by HPV, get vaccinated.