The Stay at Home Mother

In the past couple of weeks there has been a lot of information regarding the HPV Vaccination - which is a vaccine that provides protection from the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

A National Advisory Committee would like to see girls in Canada aged 9 to 13 be vaccintated for this virus. They say the vaccine is safe and effective. But I have to wonder how much research they have done on long term effects of this vaccine? In addition, the cost is approximately $135/shot and currently not being funded by any province in Canada.

Studies suggest 10 to 29 per cent of women in Canada are infected with HPV, making it the most common sexually transmitted infection in Canada. What is also disconcerting is that infants can also be exposed to the virus from their mother's genital tract.

However, I'm just not entirely "sold" on my daughter getting this particular vaccine in the future because:

1. I don't know the long term effects of it. Nor do they know how long it provides protection.

2. It just doesn't seem right to be injecting a vaccine to a nine year old girl that makes a lot of assumptions as to her future sexual encounters (that she will have multiple partners). What happened to educating our children and promoting abstinence and self respect?

3. Cervical cancer is relatively rare in Canada and seldom fatal. In Canada, it kills about 390 women a year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada which works out to .002 per cent of the female population.

4. Regular Pap Smears? What about this as an alternative?

Although I realize that my daughter is eight years away from this even being a consideration and most likely there will be far more information about it by then....I wonder how many families with girls of this age will proceed with the vaccination if the provinces decide to provide it at no financial cost to them?