Thursday, November 18, 2004
New Vaccine for HPV
The British medical journal The Lancet reports that Glaxo Smith Kline has come out with Cervatrix, a vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease responsible for approximately 97% of all cervical cancers.
According to the article, HPV is the most common STD worldwide with 75% of sexually active women having had the virus at some point in their lives.
Now can someone please explain to me what this world is coming to when people are considering vaccinating ten year old girls against HPV? It seems like society (at least in the U.S. from my experience) is hell-bent on promoting promiscuity. Granted, I'm all for vaccinations or any other medical treatments that improve people's health and quality of life. But what about telling our girls that having sex to be popular is not the answer? What about telling our girls that virginity is not an albatross around their necks that they have to get rid of ASAP? What about encouraging the long lost and derided virtue of, gasp, MODESTY?
These issue are covered in a book I read a few years ago called "A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue by Wendy Shalit. I recommend this book for men, women, liberals and conservatives alike.
According to the article, HPV is the most common STD worldwide with 75% of sexually active women having had the virus at some point in their lives.
With that in mind, both GSK and Merck are considering aiming their vaccines at girls as young as 10 to ensure they are vaccinated before the onset of sexual activity. Scientists are still researching whether or not booster shots will be needed after the initial inoculation in order to guarantee lifetime protection against HPV.
Now can someone please explain to me what this world is coming to when people are considering vaccinating ten year old girls against HPV? It seems like society (at least in the U.S. from my experience) is hell-bent on promoting promiscuity. Granted, I'm all for vaccinations or any other medical treatments that improve people's health and quality of life. But what about telling our girls that having sex to be popular is not the answer? What about telling our girls that virginity is not an albatross around their necks that they have to get rid of ASAP? What about encouraging the long lost and derided virtue of, gasp, MODESTY?
These issue are covered in a book I read a few years ago called "A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue by Wendy Shalit. I recommend this book for men, women, liberals and conservatives alike.
