School-Required HPV Shot: Yes or No?
What is HPV? Short for the human papilloma virus, HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease. For 90 percent of infected women, the virus eventually clears naturally. But on the rare occasion, HPV can lead to genital warts and/or cervical cancer. Health officials estimate that more than 6 million Americans -- many of them teens and young adults -- get a new infection of HPV each year.
Last June, the federal government approved Gardasil's HPV vaccination for girls and women aged 9 to 26. So what's the big stink? Lawmakers in a dozen states have proposed adding Gardasil to the list of shots girls must receive to attend school, right alongside the chickenpox vaccine, and a number of other necessary inoculations. However, even though doctors recommend that girls get vaccinated before they're sexually active as a preventative measure, some believe it should be up to you and/or your parents, and not the state.
