HPV Vaccination Mandates — Lawmaking amid Political and Scientific Controversy

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 363; no. 8; pp. 785 - 791
• Main Authors: Colgrove, James, Abiola, Sara, Mello, Michelle M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waltham, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 19.08.2010
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cervical cancer; Child; Female; General aspects; Health Policy; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immunization; Interviews as Topic; Mandatory Programs - legislation & jurisprudence; Medical sciences; Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control; Papillomavirus Infections - transmission; Papillomavirus Vaccines - economics; Policy Making; Politics; Prevention and actions; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; School attendance; Schools - legislation & jurisprudence; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral - prevention & control; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral - transmission; State Government; United States; Vaccination - legislation & jurisprudence; Womens health; United States; Papillomavirus; Virus; Medicine; Prevention; Immunoprophylaxis; Human papillomavirus; Political aspect; Vaccination; Papovaviridae
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsr1003547

In 2006 and 2007, legislation to include the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among the vaccines required for school entry was introduced in 24 states; only two bills were adopted. The factors that impeded the adoption of mandates included the newness of the vaccine, the sexually transmitted nature of HPV, the manufacturer's involvement in policymaking, and antivaccination activism. The June 2006 licensure of Merck's human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil, and the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that it be routinely given to girls starting at 11 or 12 years of age set off a flurry of state-level policymaking. The vaccine protects against four strains of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country and the major cause of cervical cancer. Within a year, legislators in 41 states had proposed measures intended to increase uptake of the vaccine, including educational campaigns, public subsidies, and insurance-coverage requirements. 1 The most contentious proposals were those to make . . .