Conservatives that fought wider access to a "morning-after" pill are
speaking favorably about vaccines against a sexually transmitted cause
of cervical cancer, but some groups may still call for limited use.
The makers of the still-experimental vaccines, Merck & Co. Inc. and
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, have been meeting with advocacy groups to dispel
any concerns that giving the shots might promote sexual activity by
young girls.
The efforts are paying off, as some religious organizations are
welcoming the vaccines as a new weapon against the sexually
transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV). Experts blame HPV for nearly
all cases of cervical cancer.
"We think it's a great idea to have this vaccine," said Dr. Gene Rudd,
associate executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental
Association.
Should studies continue to show solid results, "we think it ought to
be a recommended vaccine," he said.
Rudd's organization was among the opponents of Barr Pharmaceuticals
Inc.'s bid for over-the-counter sales of the Plan B "morning-after"
contraceptive. Some Plan B backers worry the same forces will stymie
the HPV vaccines by arguing their availability could clash with a
message promoting abstinence.
"We do not want to see another instance of ideology trumping the
health and well-being of the American people," Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, a New York Democrat, wrote in a letter to Health and Human
Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.
Cervical cancer strikes about 10,000 U.S. women a year and kills about
3,900, according to the American Cancer Society.
Merck's vaccine has shown 100 percent protection from the two most
common HPV strains and could win approval next year.
For maximum acceptance, the makers need a strong endorsement from the
Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, a panel convened by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schools often follow the
panel's recommendations when deciding which vaccines to require for
students.
While some physicians suggest mandatory vaccination for girls --
possibly at age 11 or 12 -- others want the shots limited to those at
high risk of HPV infection because they have multiple sexual partners.
"You can't get HPV through casual contact, and if you limit your
sexual behavior ... you're not going to have to worry about HPV," said
Dr. Hal Wallis of the Physicians Consortium, which advocates
abstinence until marriage.
By requiring universal vaccination, "we would be literally vaccinating
millions of women who really are at no risk at all," he said.
Urging limits could be a "back-door way" for opponents to defeat the
vaccines, said Susan Wood, a women's health expert who left the Food
and Drug Administration because of its refusal to clear
over-the-counter Plan B. Just as with Plan B, opponents "don't want
widespread availability," she said.
Concerned Women for America, a conservative group that lobbied against
Plan B, has no position on the vaccines yet.
"People do seem more willing to take risks if they think they are not
going to suffer consequences," said Wendy Wright, CWA's executive vice
president. She said she was "encouraged" Merck was pitching the
vaccine as preventing cancer, rather than a sexually transmitted
infection. That could avoid "the very touchy issue of how this virus
is transmitted," she said.
Executives from Merck and Glaxo said they are sensitive to concerns
from groups that teach abstinence.
"Abstinence obviously is the most effective approach to preventing
cervical cancer, but there are many other potential outcomes,"
Margaret McGlynn, president of Merck Vaccines, said at the Reuters
Health Summit this month.
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