Merck's new vaccine Gardasil could prevent most cases of cervical cancer caused by the human pappillomavirus, or HPV, if routinely given to young girls. But some worry that it might encourage early sexual behavior.

That's the conclusion of an advisory committee of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which on Thursday recommended a broad program of HPV immunizations.

Girls ages 11 and 12 should receive the newly licensed vaccine, called "Gardasil," as a matter of routine, the committee agreed. The recommendation also would allow vaccination as young as age 9 and through 26 years, said the CDC. It's aimed at preventing the nearly 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 3,700 deaths that occur in the US each year.

Vaccination Sends Wrong Message?

"We were really anticipating that," said Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District in Spokane, Wash., who expects shipments of the new drug to arrive soon. "This is an absolutely thrilling vaccine."

But whether local girls should be immunized was the subject of sharp debate among Inland Northwest residents and parents, including those who welcomed the vaccine and those who were afraid it might encourage early sexual activity.

"I would no more get this vaccine for one of my daughters than I would give them a bottle of Jack Daniels on a Friday night just because 'most of the other kids are drinking,' " remarked Janice Dvuanich, 47, a Spokane mother of five, including three adult daughters.

Michael Smith, a Spokane father of two young sons, said vaccinating against HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, would send the wrong message to young people.

"Maybe we have given up on our children too easily and lowered our expectations too easily," he said, "which shifts the burden from parent and teacher from teaching our kids the best behavior."

Tetanus Shots Don't Encourage Stepping on Rusty Nails

Others, however, were adamant that protecting the health of women should be the first priority.

"As the parent of two daughters, the approval of the HPV vaccine is happy news at my house," said Cindy Fine, 50, a Spokane community health nurse and mother of daughters ages 16 and 21.

"Do I think my daughters will be sexually active adults? Yes. Do I want them to be protected against cervical cancer? Yes. The debate about causing 9-year-olds to become sexually active is nothing more than a red herring from the abstinence-only-until marriage folks who apparently value their dogma over the lives of their daughters," she maintained.

Immunizing against HPV is no different than providing protection against measles, mumps or diphtheria, said David Camp, 49, a Spokane advertising executive and father of an 8-year-old daughter.

"Of course I would want my daughter vaccinated -- and now I do," he said. "In what possible way does this encourage sexual activity? By keeping it potentially lethal? That's a warm, charming way to express backward social priorities, now isn't it? By that logic, we should ban tetanus shots because they encourage us to step on nails."

Controversy has erupted across the US over the HPV vaccine, which should be given before females are exposed to the virus to be most effective.

Ball Is in Congress' Court

Gardasil, which is manufactured by Merck, is the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts resulting from exposure to HPV. It is highly effective against four types of the virus, including two that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, said the CDC.

It can be given to girls and women who are already sexually active, officials noted, but it will be effective only for those who have not been exposed to the virus. Because HPV is so common, it is best to administer the vaccine before the onset of sexual activity. In the US the average age of first intercourse is 16.5, according to the Guttmacher Insititute, but many young women start earlier.

"We know that sexual initiation, unfortunately, is quite young," Thorburn noted.

Three doses of the new vaccine should be given to girls when they're 11 or 12 years old, according to the CDC committee's recommendation. The shots can be given to girls as young as 9 with the advice of a doctor or other health care provider.

Making sure the drug is widely available and affordable should be a priority, said Jet Tilley, public policy director for Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest.

"We are at a critical juncture for women's health and safety," Tilley commented. "It is now up to Congress to appropriate enough funding to ensure that everyone who needs this vaccine has access to it."

Until funding for the vaccine is approved in Washington, DC, it will be available at a cost of about $300, Thorburn said.

Healthy Discussions

LeAnna Benn, national director of Teen-Aid, a Spokane agency that advocates abstinence, said the vaccine raises tough questions for parents.

"They're going to have to ask, 'Do I expect my daughter to start having sex at 11 and 12?' " she said. "Most parents don't realize that you get cervical cancer from having sex."

The vaccine will give kids a false sense of protection, Benn argued. "If they think they're safe, they'll engage in more [sex] earlier," she said.

One point all parties agreed on was the need for thoughtful conversations about sexual behavior at an early age.

"The good news is, it will cause some discussion," said Benn.

(c) 2006 The Spokesman-Review. All rights reserved.
(c) 2006 Daily News Central. All rights reserved.