Cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2006. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices followed with a recommendation that all girls be vaccinated at age 11 or 12 with the HPV vaccine.
But state lawmakers thwarted the plans after aggressive lobbying by religious conservatives, who argued that vaccinating young girls could promote promiscuity.
The human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer is transmitted through sexual contact. Cervical cancer is a disease in which the cells of the cervix become abnormal and start to grow uncontrollably, forming tumors. In the United States, cervical cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women aged 35-54, and the third most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. In some developing countries, it is the most common type of cancer.
Proposals in many states died or were watered down to only provide parents with educational materials instead of requiring the vaccine. In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order requiring vaccinations for sixth-grade girls, but the Legislature then passed a bill blocking the order.
“It encapsulates so many issues that are at the core of politics and health policy right now,” said Alina Salganicoff, director of women?s health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Gardasil is the world’s first vaccine against certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The vaccine, marketed by Merck & Co., is designed to prevent infection with HPV types 16, 18, 6, and 11. HPV types 16 and 18 cause about 70% of HPV-related cervical cancer cases. HPV types 6 and 11 cause about 90% of genital wart cases.