[Abstinence Clearinghouse E-Mail Update 5/9/07]
In its May 2, 2007 issue, the Journal of the American Medical Association editorializes against requiring an HPV vaccine in order to attend public school. Noting limited safety and efficacy data, legal issues involving possible adverse effects of the vaccine, a $360 price tag, the means of transmission of HPV, and the requirement that only females be immunized, the journal supports voluntary use of the vaccine without state-enforced mandates.

The editorial states, “Given that the overall prevalence of HPV types associated with cervical cancer is relatively low (3.4%)4 and that the long-term effects are unknown, it is unwise to require a young girl with a very low lifetime risk of cervical cancer to be vaccinated without her assent and her parent's consent. Consider the information a clinician can honestly provide to a 12-year-old girl to obtain her assent: "The 3 injections will probably protect you from an infection that you can only get from sexual contact, but research has not shown how long the protection will last or whether it might have rare bad effects on your health."

(Source: “Mandatory HPV Vaccination: Public Health vs Private Wealth,” JAMA, 05-02-07)

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