Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine for Young Women.

¶ … Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for young women. Cervical cancer is a common cancer in women, but it can be totally avoided if a young woman receives the HPV vaccine before she contracts the disease.

The HPV vaccine was approved by the FDA in 2006, which means it is safe according to their studies. They mean it primarily for young women, to prevent cervical cancer from occurring. Women between the ages of 9 and 26 are primary candidates for the vaccine, according to the FDA (Vamos, McDermott & Daley, 2008). If a woman has already contracted cervical cancer, it will not cure the disease, and it is only effective against the two most common types of cervical cancer. That being said, it is a known way to ward off cervical cancer, and states should mandate it for their young women, it will save health care costs, and more importantly, save lives.

HPV is a problem not only in America, but also around the world. Often, it occurs in the very poorest countries where proper healthcare is simply not available. For this reason, health departments and organizations have routinely approved the vaccines around the world, and they are in use in many other countries. Two other writers note, "Globally, the picture is grim as more than 250,000 women die annually from cervical cancer, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in women" (Daley & McDermott, 2007). This shows that the vaccines are saving thousands of lives, and that they should be mandated for use in our country. We know they can save lives around the world; it is time to start saving lives here at home.

The vaccine has shown to be extremely effective in preventing cervical cancer in young patients. Three authors continue, "In clinical trials, the vaccine has been 100% effective in preventing the 2 types of HPV (types 16 and 18) responsible for 70% of cervical cancers and the 2 types of HPV (types 6 and 11) responsible for 90% of genital warts" (Vamos, McDermott & Daley, 2008). Cervical cancer develops from a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) that can lie dormant in the body for days, weeks, months, or even years. Most people do not even know that they have the disease. These STDs can sometimes develop into HPV, and a large majority of young women now contract these STDS during their lives, making them much more vulnerable to cervical cancer. If states mandate the HPV vaccine for women, they are taking the right step in saving lives and making people's lives better, and they should mandate the HPV vaccine, just as they mandate several shots for other infectious diseases, like measles and mumps. Mandating these vaccines has virtually eradicated diseases like measles and mumps from our society, and the same should be said for cervical cancer.