As a follow-up to my previous post on International Women’s Day, here is a selection of past posts related to non-U.S. women’s health. Many of them make mention of news stories, films, or situations that are worth a look.
Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee is offering free health services during the month of December. See the schedule below.
In response to the Executive Order requiring HPV vaccination for Texas schoolgirls, legislation has been proposed in the state that would prohibit HPV vaccination status from being used as a condition for public school enrollment. Other legislators are expressing concern that the issue wasn’t properly reviewed and asking the Governor to rescind the order, as evidenced in this Dallas News piece – ” State Sen. Jane Nelson (R), chairwoman of the Senate’s health and human services committee, said lawmakers should have been allowed to hear from doctors, scientists and patients before the state implemented such a sweeping mandate. ‘This is not an emergency,’ said Ms. Nelson, R-Grapevine. ‘It needs to be discussed and debated.’”
Okay, people, you really have to stop it with the “HPV vaccines will turn girls into sluts” argument. I’m serious. My brain might just explode. Today’s Tennessean (Nashville’s newspaper of dubious quality) has an article, “State official doesn’t back mandated HPV vaccine.” As you may know, mandating the vaccine for school entry (with generous opt-out provisions) is under consideration or has been enacted in several locales. Tennessee’s Commissioner of Health, Susan Cooper, reportedly stated, “Do I think every female child should be protected against cervical cancer? If there’s a way to do it, yes. Do I think we know enough about the long-term outcomes of this vaccine to say we ought to mandate it today? Maybe not.” This is a common concern about the vaccine (see my concerns about Texas’s mandatory vaccination proposal). You want to further examine the science and the money and the implications, fine, good idea.
The American Cancer Society released this press release regarding new ACS guidelines that purportedly recommend that girls should receive the HPV vaccine when they’re 11-12 years old. The new guidelines were developed by an expert panel who reviewed existing published and unpublished data on HPV vaccines. The guidelines do not explicitly state that girls 11-12 years old receive the HPV vaccine, but discuss the barriers reaching adolescents for vaccination and the recommendation by many health organizations that adolescents receive a routine healthcare visit at 11-12, thus creating a time during which teens could receive booster and other vaccines, including the HPV vaccine.
The Washington Post is reporting that Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine will sign legislation requiring the state’s 6th-grade girls to receive the HPV vaccine. The bill passed the VA House 80-17, and unanimously passed in the VA Senate on the 3rd reading. The legislation updates existing vaccination requirements, adding to the list of required vaccinations the language, “12. Three doses of properly spaced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for females. The first dose shall be administered before the child enters the sixth grade.”
Visit Women’s Health News at its new home – http://womenshealthnews.wordpress.com
Please note that comments here are moderated very infrequently, if at all. Old posts have been migrated over as well, so please come on over if you have a comment.