HPV vaccination

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Hey! I’m new to Catholic forums. Doctors and people are talking to me about the new HPV vaccine. I was wondering about it and if there are any moral implications with getting it? Thanks. God Bless!
 
Hey! I’m new to Catholic forums. Doctors and people are talking to me about the new HPV vaccine. I was wondering about it and if there are any moral implications with getting it? Thanks. God Bless!
HBerry,

Hello and welcome to the Catholic Answers Forums. I hope you have a blessed and fruitful time here.

I have not studied the question of HPV vaccination at all; I first heard about it when I read in the newspaper two days ago that the company that makes the vaccine is lobbying state government to require that schoolgirls take it. That sets off alarm bells in my mind–both that the government would try to force girls to take a vaccine that is relevant only if they are going to be sexually promiscuous (or sexually active with somebody who has been sexually promiscuous) and that the company would engage in such a conflict of interest.

My gut feeling is that there are lots of moral implications; I just don’t know what they are. One of them may be that receiving the vaccine willingly is a form of stating (to yourself or to others) that you are going to be sexually promiscuous.

Is there a time limit or an age limit before which the vaccine must be taken? If there isn’t, I would suggest not taking it. You can always take it later, but if you take it now you can’t un-take it later.
  • Liberian
 
In the USA, several conservative religious groups have publicly opposed the concept of making HPV vaccination mandatory for pre-adolescent girls, citing fears that vaccination against a sexually transmitted diseases might send a subtle message that detracts from an abstinence-based approach to sexual health.

Some individuals and groups have raised similar objections to the HPV vaccine that have been raised to other vaccines. For example, some critics have claimed the studies on the vaccine are inadequate, as at least some of the research is done not using a real placebo group for comparison, but an aluminum-containing shot or another vaccine against a different disease.

EWTN has an interesting article called Morality of HPV vaccine that may be helpful.
 
Is there a time limit or an age limit before which the vaccine must be taken?
It has been approved for girls/women 9-26. It may be approved beyond age 26 pending further research.

This is from the Catholic Medical Association for what it is worth:

***The CMA supports widespread use of Gardasil® ***
**for girls and women in the age range for which the vaccine has been recommended by the ACIP, because it is effective, safe, and ethical to use, provided certain conditions are met.

******CMA opposes mandating the use of HPV vaccine, as well as ******direct or indirect efforts to pressure parents or minors to accept it.
cathmed.org./pressrelease…PV_Vaccine.pdf

Here is the press release:

cathmed.org/pressreleases/cma_hpv_jan07.pdf

There are threads on the Culture of Death forum that may be informative too.
HTH!
Autumn*
 
The vaccine is intended to protect against the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is transmitted by sexual contact, and can lead to cervical cancer.

The states which have considered mandating its use generally want girls to be vaccinated at age 12, I think. The thinking is to do it before they become sexually active.

The sad part of this is that sexual activity among teens is considered to be so prevalent and widespread that this vaccine must be mandated. And it’s not cheap.
 
The problem with this vaccine is the same as all others before it. They are not being honest with us about its effectiveness nor about how little they know about its possible negative side effects.

There are over 100 strains of HPV and only 13 have been connected with cervical cancer. This vaccine is “thought to prevent” 4 of them. 4 out of 13, and they only “think” it will work on those 4. This is the vaccine that they are promoting as “protecting women from cervical cancer for life”. This is an incredibly brazen lie.

Vaccines in general have a pretty bad record of safety that you only find out about if you really look because the facts are supressed by the drugs companies, the media, and the government. Substances proven beyond any doubt to be harmful are still allowed to be injected into children. Vaccines that are highly suspected as causing terrible side effects are still required in most states.

Do you think it is worth the risk of physically or mentally damaging side effects to inject your daughter with a drug that at best MIGHT protect her against only 4 of the 13 strains of HPV (of the more than 100 total strains) that are connected to cervical cancer? I sure as heck do not.

Mandating it is not about public health. It is about campaign contributions and drug company profits. The manufacturers are set to make billions, that is BILLIONS of dollars if this is mandated nationwide and hundreds of thousands of those billions will end up in the pockets of your favorite vaccine-mandating politicians.
 
There are over 100 strains of HPV and only 13 have been connected with cervical cancer. This vaccine is “thought to prevent” 4 of them. 4 out of 13, and they only “think” it will work on those 4. This is the vaccine that they are promoting as “protecting women from cervical cancer for life”. This is an incredibly brazen lie.
Gardisil protects against two types of HPV (types 16 and 18) that cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. And the studies have shown the vaccine to be very effective against those strains.
 
Gardisil protects against two types of HPV (types 16 and 18) that cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. And the studies have shown the vaccine to be very effective against those strains.
The numbers you quote are from only 1 study which was published in the British medical journal “The Lancet”. If you read that study you are neglecting to mention the fact that the same study found the effectiveness waned after 2 years. Hardly the lifetime guarantee they rant about. Most other published studies are not nearly as optomistic. And still no mention of research into possible side effects. Another rotavirus-type fiasco in the making?
 
I don’t see what would be wrong with girls getting it. Just because they get the shot, doesn’t mean they’re going to be having pre martial sex.

I had HPV and was one step away from cancer before it was caught, yes it was my own fault and my own sin that caused it. But I don’t think God wants his children to die of cancer just because they are sinning, especially if it could be prevented. Cause unfortunately, not all teens are gonna stay virgins, even if we want them too.
 
I don’t see what would be wrong with girls getting it. Just because they get the shot, doesn’t mean they’re going to be having pre martial sex.

I had HPV and was one step away from cancer before it was caught, yes it was my own fault and my own sin that caused it. But I don’t think God wants his children to die of cancer just because they are sinning, especially if it could be prevented. Cause unfortunately, not all teens are gonna stay virgins, even if we want them too.
You are ignoring the far more important issues of whether or not it will actually prevent anything and whether or not it will prove to be safe, neither of which has been sufficiently proven. THAT is what is wrong with girls getting it. My wife and I have decided that there is NO WAY we are getting our little girl injected with an unproven drug. Vaccines have too poor a track record to trust a new one after so little testing.
 
You are ignoring the far more important issues of whether or not it will actually prevent anything and whether or not it will prove to be safe, neither of which has been sufficiently proven. THAT is what is wrong with girls getting it. My wife and I have decided that there is NO WAY we are getting our little girl injected with an unproven drug. Vaccines have too poor a track record to trust a new one after so little testing.
True, I understand that. It could still be harmful and I wouldn’t get it unless there’s much more testing. And really I don’t think it should be mandatory for girls to get it, It should be up to parents and the young women themselves whether or not they want to get it. My post was my opinion on it if in fact the vaccine is proven safe.

Thanks for catching my overlooking though.
 
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