Most parents say no to requiring HPV vax

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 23 (UPI) -- Only 44 percent of parents in a recent U.S. poll supported a requirement that girls receive the vaccine Gardasil before they can enter ninth grade.

Gardasil protects young women from contracting human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts. It is spread by sexual contact.

To examine attitudes on this controversial subject, Knowledge Networks Inc. and the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health conducted a national online survey in March 2007.

A random sample of 2,076 adults age 18 and older weighted to reflect the U.S. population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau were involved. About two-thirds of the sample population were parents.

Although 85 percent of parents thought vaccines protected their children and 68 percent said they would support mandatory tetanus/diphtheria/whooping cough boosters before ninth grade, only 44 percent supported required vaccination with Gardasil. Non-supporters cited concerns about the vaccine's safety and said they considered it non-essential since there were other ways to prevent the infection.

To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have introduced bills to make the vaccine mandatory, and Virginia passed a law early in 2007 requiring vaccination before entry into junior high. Although the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics support universal HPV vaccination for girls 11 and 12, neither organization supports school entry mandates.