Thursday, May 18, 2006
When Will They Have a Shot to Prevent Stupidity?
In the "Excuse me, is my mouth still open?" category:
A Food and Drug Administration panel is meeting today to discuss a promising new vaccine that could stop viruses that cause nearly 70 percent of all cervical cancers and genital warts, but the potential distribution of the vaccine is causing political and cultural controversy.
Merck & Co. is seeking FDA approval for its Gardasal vaccine against four types of human papilloma virus. Doctors are calling the vaccine a monumental advance. ...
But conservative family groups say parents should have a choice.
"This is a disease that's sexually transmitted," said Linda Klepacki, spokeswoman for Focus on the Family. "Because of that, this is a very personal subject and we feel parents should make that decision for their children."
Other opponents go further. Hal Wallace, head of the Physicians Consortium, says the vaccine would send kids a message that, "you just take this shot and you can be as sexually promiscuous as you want."
Bizarrely, "a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found 11 percent of physicians worried that the vaccine might encourage more risky sexual behavior." Fortunately, that means the vast majority of doctors have not traded in their Hippocratic Oaths for self-righteousness. As Dr. Carolyn Runowicz, president of the American Cancer Society, said:
Data has shown if you give kids a helmet it doesn't make them fall off [their bike] and it doesn't make them drive crazy.
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