Monday, June 19, 2006

HPV Vaccine

I'm so sick of hearing all these people who declare that Merck's new HPV vaccine will "entice children into having sex because they will feel like it is risk free." Are these people so ignorant that they forget that genital warts are not the only thing cured by this vaccine (Only two of the targeted strains of the 4 cause genital warts)?

HPV causes all kinds of warts. Common, Plantar, Flat, Filiform, and others. I myself have had bouts with a wart. They live on the skin, and spread by contact of the skin. I eventually got rid of the wart on my foot with Mediplast strips, but it took months. And in trying to get rid of the wart on my foot, it spread to my hand. Containing this virus is like trying to destroy 100% of microbes in your house, it just doesn't happen easily. 75% of women worldwide are projected to get HPV in one way shape or form in their life, and with close 100% of all the 500,000 world wide cases of cervical cancer being credited to HPV-16, 18, 31 and 45, not giving girls this vaccine is like saying no to an AIDS vaccine. It just shouldn't be done!

This vaccine needs to be made readily available, and at $300-500 for the treatment, it needs to be covered by Insurance as a preventative measure.