The New York Times has an article about a vaccine that is quite successful against HPV, a family of viruses of which two have been demonstrated to cause cervical cancer. HPV is sexually transmitted.
Dr. Wheeler and most other public health specialists argue that vaccinating young girls and eventually, boys, before they become sexually active is the best overall prevention strategy and the most effective way to continue to research the vaccines’ efficacy (although no effectiveness studies have yet been done in males). But some conservative Christians oppose mandatory vaccination, and have argued that the vaccine would promote promiscuity and detract from their, and the Bush administration’s, abstinence messages in the United States and abroad.
I don’t oppose mandatory vaccination on religious grounds. I oppose the “mandatory” part of that on personal liberty grounds. Some vaccines are known to have side effects that in some cases can be worse than the original virus. Risks must be weighed. Schools will often not allow kids into school that aren’t vaccinated. That’s fine, because admission to a school is voluntary (even if the funding isn’t).
