Recent replies to "Vaccination for the nation"

Reply from Helen Jaques

Helen Jaques — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:59:20 -0000

I think for young girls the parental consent issue may apply to any vaccine rather than HPV especially, in case the recipients don’t fully understand what they’re receiving. It’s worth finding out if this issue only applies to this vaccine.

Reply from Maxine Clarke

Maxine Clarke — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:24:00 -0000

Yes indeed, Heather. And then there is the whole military “volunteers” aspect.

Reply from Heather Etchevers

Heather Etchevers — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:43:57 -0000

A major issue in whether “a vaccination has been proven safe and effective” or not is who proves it, and to whom. Any company making a useful vaccine stands to make whopping profits and is likely to find many ways to put pressure on regulatory agencies to approve going to market. I think it’s reasonable to remain slightly skeptical about newer vaccines until a little more perspective can be gained.

This unfortunately gets to the issue of “test it on other people’s kids, not mine” which makes it quite so difficult and expensive for companies to invest in such development to begin with. Or they have to take it off to a developing country and recruit in exchange for another product of theirs, and that’s iffy ethical territory. It’s a vicious circle.

Reply from Martin Fenner

Martin Fenner — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:21:11 -0000

Similar to the UK Department of Health, the German STIKO last year recommended HPV vaccination for all girls age 12 to 17 (!). The vaccination was recommended for all girls and not for particular subgroups at risk. In Germany a vaccination of a 12-year-old girl would of course require her consent but would not be possible without the consent of a parent.

Reply from Maxine Clarke

Maxine Clarke — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:03:55 -0000

Martin, you write: “But in contrast to measles, neither HBV nor HPV are easily transmitted in schools or other social gatherings. It should therefore be left to the parents”

Why not the person who knows whether or not he or she is at risk, rather than the parent (who may well not have a clue one way or the other?). I question the ethics of a parent making this decision, but maybe there are factors that haven’t occurred to me. (I don’t think the age of the person is a factor – but again, there may be aspects to this argument that haven’t occurred to me.)

Reply from Martin Fenner

Martin Fenner — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:10:05 -0000

There is also growing evidence that infection with human papillomavirus increases the risk of head and neck cancer, e.g. this case control study from last year.

I would compare HPV vaccination to Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccination. Both will dramatically decrease the risk of cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma in the case of HBV). But in contrast to measles, neither HBV nor HPV are easily transmitted in schools or other social gatherings. It should therefore be left to the parents, but I expect widespread acceptance of the HPV vaccine within a few years.

Reply from Maxine Clarke

Maxine Clarke — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:13:38 -0000

I think it also depends on the extent to which lifestyle factors are involved in the disease.

Reply from Helen Jaques

Helen Jaques — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:48:41 -0000

To be honest, I think once a vaccination has been proven safe and effective, everyone should be strongly urged to have it.

Of course, there aren’t actually that many papers on the HPV vaccine yet so the safety hasn’t been proven beyond all doubt. Parents, and, more importantly, the girls being immunized, should therefore have the choice whether to receive it.

The vaccine is recommended for girls aged 12-13 years, so I feel parental consent is probably important for this young age group. On the other hand, I hope the girls themselves have last say as to whether they are immunized.

Reply from Maxine Clarke

Maxine Clarke — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:25:57 -0000

I would certainly recommend MMR vaccine and the other standard vaccinations – essential I believe. I am not so sure about HPV, though. Maybe it is best to let the girls decide, not the parents, in that case?

Reply from Helen Jaques

Helen Jaques — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:41:06 -0000

Just spotted this story on Nature News. It seems that the human papilloma virus is also implicated in lung cancer. More reason to insist on vaccinating against this virus?