Schoolgirls to get 'cancer jab'

[Pchan 5,162]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7062479.stm

Schoolgirls in Britain will be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer from September 2008, ministers have announced. This goes further than recommended by experts, with all aged 12-13 eligible, and a catch-up campaign up to 18.

It is thought that vaccinating against human papilloma virus (HPV) could save hundreds of lives in the UK each year.

The vaccine is given in three injections over six months at a cost of around £300 a course.

Earlier this year the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended routine vaccination for 11 to 12-year olds, including the possibility of a catch-up campaign - but only up to the age of 16.

But the government wanted further evidence on the cost benefits of a programme before making a final decision.

In England the programme will start initially in 12 to 13-year olds, with plans to vaccinate those up to the age of 18 from autumn 2009.

Wales and Scotland have announced similar plans, and Northern Ireland will also be carrying out vaccination in 12-year olds but has yet to finalise the details.

It will most likely be done in schools but individual primary care trusts will be responsible for working out how to implement vaccination.

Two vaccines have been developed - Gardasil, made by Merck and Sanofi Pasteur, which has been approved in 76 countries, and Cervarix, made by GSK and launched in the UK recently.

The committee had not made a recommendation as to which of the vaccines should be used.

Killer disease

Some have expressed concerns that providing a jab to protect against a sexually transmitted infection to children at a young age might encourage promiscuity.

But parents would have the final say as to whether their child received the injection.

Sarah Lotzof is a GP at Dedicated Doctors, a private clinic that has been offering the vaccine. She told BBC Radio 5 Live the vaccines were needed.

"It is a huge breakthrough for our younger generation," she said.

"We can stop possibly 85% of people who would have died of cancer dying - and at the moment over 1,000 women are dying of this disease in this country now."

About 80% of sexually active women can expect to have an HPV infection at some point in their lives.

It is held responsible for some 70% of cervical cancer cases, a disease which kills 274,000 women worldwide every year, including 1,120 in the UK.

European approval

In an editorial published last year, the Lancet called for mandatory vaccination against HPV for girls in all EU member states once they are 11 or 12.

Other European countries including Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Luxembourg and Belgium have approved a vaccination programme.

Experts said the programme would be more expensive than all other childhood immunisations and the benefits would not be seen for decades, but eventually it would be worth the cost.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said: "As a society we need to do more to prevent disease and not just treat it.

"Now, more than ever before, we need to make the NHS a service that prevents ill health and prioritises keeping people well."

He added that 400 lives could potentially be saved each year, with many women prevented from getting HPV in the first place.

Pamela Morton, director of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, said she was absolutely delighted at the news.

"It's exactly what we wanted and it goes beyond our expectations. I'm delighted for young women and their parents."

Dr Loretta Brabin, Reader in Women's Health, University of Manchester, said they were working with two primary care trusts to pilot the vaccination programme ahead of national roll-out.

"So far we have not encountered any major obstacles to parental acceptance of vaccination.

"Parent's main concern is long term safety, and while many do not think their daughters will be at risk of HPV just yet, most understand the need for vaccinating at an early age," she said.

[Dubird 6,815]

The US has been doing that for a while now. They've been having commercials advocating getting the vaccine a lot. It's not required, but it is avaliable.

[Mathias 426]

This article makes me very sad. Our children are having sex younger and younger, because parents are undermined by schools and "authorities" who are telling our children its not only okay but encouraged. When Kelene went to Planned Parenthood, they didn't offer counseling or ask probing questions to ask her why she wanted birth control pills, they just gave them. In this case she was of adult age, but I hear they do the same for children. Okay, I'm going to stop this rant before I get in trouble.

I'll just stop and say that the way the article was written, it sounds like a majority of under 18 cases of cervical cancer was caused by having under age sex. If that's the case, abstinence would be a far cheaper alternative to preach about. I haven't seen those commercials on TV, have you?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

parental control helps, but peer pressure the media and hormones rule adolescence. you'll see when yer kids get older how truely shitafied things are.

I tried to do the whole positive role models thing. My son had Steve Irwin as a lil one, and my daughter had/has Raven (I like her cuz she's not an anorexic skank)

[Kite 3,263]

if you want ur kid to stay a virgin, get them really fat ;p

but seriously i would rather my kid have sex then get a serious illness

im pro any vaccine at any age provided it has no side effects

[Wolflord 1,488]

When Kelene went to Planned Parenthood, they didn't offer counseling or ask probing questions to ask her why she wanted birth control pills, they just gave them. In this case she was of adult age, but I hear they do the same for children. Okay, I'm going to stop this rant before I get in trouble.

So privacy doesn't exist in your perfect world? I'm sorry for sounding rude but someone who buys birth control pills ain't buying them for the taste. My dad said once that kids are gonna have sex anyways, so they might as well be protected from the bad things that can come of it.

I agree that a lot of the sex that goes in among teenagers these days is stupid, so they might as well be smart about it...

[Kite 3,263]

do you have to buy birth control pills in america

[Dubird 6,815]

Ok, first of all, birth control pills aren't JUST for birth control. I was on them in high school because I have MASSIVE cramps every month, and that was one of the solutions for it. They stopped working for that after a couple years, and with the massive mood swings the BC pills were causing, it was just more trouble than it was helping.

But 'underage' sex is not a new thing, no matter what papers are being produced and what you see on TV. Hell, back in the middle ages, a person was probally married and had at least one kid by age 15 or so, so it's not like this is a new issue. It's a bigger issue now because kids now are taking longer to mature mentally, but not phsycially. You can preach about abstinance and saving yourself for marriage and the dangers of having random sex with people, but you can't control what your teenager will do. The best you can do is give them information and protection so that if they decide to go out and have sex, at least they won't get sick or pregnant from it. Because, let's face it. If a teenager wants to have sex bad enough, they'll find a way to do it. I personally don't have a moral stigma against it except for those that use sex as the only way to gauge their self-worth. That's not to say I'd want my daughter OR SON to go out and have sex, but I would also want them to know that protection from disese or pregnancy is KEY.

And yes, you have to buy birth control in America, Kite. It's not covered by insurance, either, not even for non-contricptive uses. *grrrrrr* Which is one reason I'm not still on it.

[Mathias 426]

I believe a parent or guardian should know EVERYTHING about a dependent. I believe, as a father/stepfather/adopted father/head of household/guardian you have the right to know everything about your dependents and I'd even go so far as spouse, but that's another topic. If you are legally bound to the care of a dependent, you should know everything. Monetary reasons alone, I should know how my money/FSA/insurance is being spend on me or any of my dependents. Whether the pills are to equalize a hormonal imbalance, prevent pregnancy, or any other reason. I can't adequately take care of my dependents if critical knowledge of their health is withheld. Once they are no longer considered my dependent, that person can have all the privacy they want.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

I believe a parent or guardian should know EVERYTHING about a dependent.

X'D good luck with that

[Dubird 6,815]

X'D good luck with that

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. *LOL* You may try to know everything about everything they're doing and everyone they see, but it gets harder each year, and by the time they're teenagers, well, the only way to control everything they do is by homeschooling them and never letting them leave the house without you right there with them. Good luck!

[Mathias 426]

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. *LOL* You may try to know everything about everything they're doing and everyone they see, but it gets harder each year, and by the time they're teenagers, well, the only way to control everything they do is by homeschooling them and never letting them leave the house without you right there with them. Good luck!

I guess thats the point, I believe I SHOULD know. If nothing else, where my money and insurance payments are going. Oh well.