Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: America oggi...

Viene messo appunto un vaccino efficace al 100% contro il cancro
Cervicale (una malattia la cui incidenza e' correlata con l'attivita'
sessuale), e i gruppi della
destra religiosa COMBATTONO CONTRO LA DIFFUSIONE, perche' "vaccinare
promuove il sesso".
Chissa' cosa ne pensa il "comitato in difesa della vita"  :-/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/31/MNG2LFGJFT1.DTL#story
Washington -- A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has
set
up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots
aggressively
to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say
immunizing teen-agers could encourage sexual activity.
Although the vaccine will not become available until next year at the
earliest, activists on both sides have begun maneuvering to influence
how
widely the immunizations will be employed.
Groups working to reduce the toll of the cancer are eagerly awaiting
the
vaccine and want it to become part of the standard roster of shots that
children, especially girls, receive just before puberty.
Because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus, many
conservatives oppose making it mandatory, citing fears that it could
send
a subtle message condoning sexual activity before marriage. Several
leading groups that promote abstinence are meeting this week to
formulate
official policies on the vaccine.
Officials from the companies developing the shots -- Merck & Co. and
GlaxoSmithKline -- have been meeting with advocacy groups to try to
assuage their concerns.
The jockeying reflects the growing influence social conservatives, who
had
long felt overlooked by Washington, have gained on a broad spectrum of
policy issues under the Bush administration. In this case, a former
member
of the conservative group Focus on the Family serves on the federal
panel
that is playing a pivotal role in deciding how the vaccine is used.
"What the Bush administration has done has taken this coterie of people
and put them into very influential positions in Washington," said James
Morone Jr., a professor of political science at Brown University. "And
it's having an effect in debates like this."
The vaccine protects women against strains of a ubiquitous germ called
the
human papilloma virus. Although many strains of the virus are
innocuous,
some can cause cancerous lesions on the cervix (the outer end of the
uterus), making them the primary cause of this cancer in the United
States. Cervical cancer strikes more than 10,000 U.S. women each year,
killing more than 3,700.
The vaccine appears to be virtually 100 percent effective against two
of
the most common cancer-causing HPV strains. Merck, whose vaccine is
further along, plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration by the end
of
the year for approval to sell the shots.
Exactly how the vaccine is used will be largely determined by the
Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of experts
assembled
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The panel
issues widely followed guidelines, including recommendations for
childhood
vaccines that become the basis for vaccination requirements set by
public
schools.
Officials of both companies noted that research indicates the best age
to
vaccinate would be just before puberty to make sure children are
protected
before they become sexually active. The vaccine would probably be
targeted
primarily at girls but could also be used on boys to limit the spread
of
the virus.
"I would like to see it that if you don't have your HPV vaccine, you
can't
start high school," said Juan Carlos Felix of the University of
Southern
California, who leads the National Cervical Cancer Coalition's medical
advisory panel.
At the ACIP meeting last week, panel members heard presentations about
the
pros and cons of vaccinating girls at various ages. A survey of 294
pediatricians presented at the meeting found that more than half were
worried that parents of female patients might refuse the vaccine, and
11
percent of the doctors said they thought vaccinating against a sexually
transmitted disease "may encourage risky sexual behavior in my
adolescent
patients."
Conservative groups say they welcome the vaccine as an important public
health tool but oppose making it mandatory.
"Some people have raised the issue of whether this vaccine may be
sending
an overall message to teen-agers that, 'We expect you to be sexually
active,' " said Reginald Finger, a doctor trained in public health who
served as a medical analyst for Focus on the Family before being
appointed
to the ACIP in 2003.
"There are people who sense that it could cause people to feel like
sexual
behaviors are safer if they are vaccinated and may lead to more sexual
behavior because they feel safe," said Finger, emphasizing he does not
endorse that position and is withholding judgment until the issue comes
before the vaccine policy panel for a formal recommendation.
Conservative medical groups have been fielding calls from concerned
parents and organizations, officials said.
"I've talked to some who have said, 'This is going to sabotage our
abstinence message,' " said Gene Rudd, associate executive director of
the
Christian Medical and Dental Associations. But Rudd said most people
change their minds once they learn more, adding he would probably want
his
children immunized. Rudd, however, draws the line at making the vaccine
mandatory.
"Parents should have the choice. There are those who would say, 'We can
provide a better, healthier alternative than the vaccine, and that is
to
teach abstinence,' " Rudd said.
The council plans to meet Wednesday to discuss the issue. On the same
day,
the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Texas, which advises
conservative groups on sexuality and health issues, is convening a
one-day
meeting to develop a position statement.
Alan Kaye, executive director of the National Cervical Cancer
Coalition,
likened the vaccine to wearing a seat belt.
"Just because you wear a seat belt doesn't mean you're seeking out an
accident," Kaye said.

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