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College Opposes Mandatory HPV Vaccination |
News Release
Contact: Joseph Zanga, MD
Phone: 252-744-2291
E-mail: ds_acpeds@bellsouth.net
College Opposes Mandatory HPV Vaccination
Gainesville, Florida January 12, 2007 --The American College of Pediatricians applauds the availability of HPV vaccine. We strongly oppose requiring students to obtain the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine as a requirement for public school attendance.
HPV is spread only by sexual intercourse. Keeping children out of school because they have not been vaccinated with the HPV vaccine is a serious, precedent-setting action. It replaces parental medical decision-making with government regulation which should be reserved for the improvement of the general public health. HPV cannot innocently be “caught” in a classroom as measles or other vaccine preventable diseases can.
It is not known how long the HPV vaccine will provide protection against HPV disease. Because of this and because all potential side effects are not yet known, the College also calls for the establishment of a vaccine registry for HPV vaccine recipients.
The College’s complete position statement can be found at www.ACPeds.org.
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