Bill would require vaccines against HPV for all girls

RICHMOND — All girls entering the sixth grade would be vaccinated for the human papillomavirus a move that doctors say could help wipe out cervical cancer under legislation that cleared a legislative committee yesterday Tues.

“This is a very exciting time for us, and for our daughters and for our granddaughters, because we have the opportunity now to eliminate cervical cancer in our lifetime,” said Delegate Jeion A. Antonia Ward, Hampton Democrat and a sponsor of the bill, which passed a the House health committee 18-2.

Cervical cancer kills about 10 women daily nationwide, and about 99 percent of all cases are linked to HPV, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine in June and suggested it be given to females ages 9 to 26. The CDC advised that girls be vaccinated before they become sexually active, since because HPV is contracted by sexual or even skin-to-skin contact.

The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, is given in a series of three shots over a six-month period and protects against types of HPV that cause cervical cancer and sexually transmitted diseases including genital warts.

The CDC says 80 percent of women will acquire HPV by age 50, and a third of those cases will develop into cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated that 9,700 women in the U.S. would be diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2006 and another 3,700 women would die from the disease.

The American Cancer Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups have recommended vaccinating girls against the virus.

If passed by the General Assembly, the legislation would take effect Oct. 1, 2008. But because schools open before October, it wouldn’t have a significant impact until the summer of 2009, when students in public and private schools get their vaccinations.

That gives additional time to make sure there aren’t problems with the vaccine, said Delegate Phillip A. Hamilton, Newport News Republican and the bill’s other sponsor.

Delegate John J. Welch III, Virginia Beach Republican, said he’s afraid the General Assembly is reacting too quickly.

“I appreciate what the FDA does, but obviously, it’s been proven in the public that sometimes these things are a knee-jerk reaction,” said Mr. Welch, one of two delegates who voted against the measure.

“It seems to be very shortsighted that six months out of the shotgun that we’re requiring every living female going into the sixth grade to get the immunization,” he said.

Mr. Welch said it should be left up to families and their doctors to decide if whether a girl gets the vaccine. Families can refuse to get any required vaccine for their child for religious or medical reasons.

Dr. Cecilia Boardman, a gynecology oncologist who specializes in cervical cancer at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center, said more than 22,000 women in the U.S. and Europe were studied over for five years before the FDA approved the vaccine. She called cervical cancer “a completely preventable disease” and said the vaccines would help eliminate the disease.

Because the state would be required to fund the vaccinations, the bill must be sent to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.

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