Requiring HPV Vaccine For U.S. Immigrants Imposes Costs, Inhibits Freedom Of Choice, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 21 Oct 2008 - 10:00 PDT

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Although most women in the U.S. can choose whether to take Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, immigrant families with young daughters must "either abide by the mandate" requiring immigrant women ages 11 to 26 to receive the vaccine or "give up their American Dream," Marisa Trevino -- who writes the blog "Latina Lista" -- says in a USA Today opinion piece.

Trevino writes that "even the 41 states that introduced legislation to 'require, fund or educate' families" about Gardasil "allow people to opt out of the vaccine on moral, religious or medical grounds." In addition, the cost of the vaccine at $120 for each of its three doses would be a "heavy price to pay" for immigrant families, particularly those with more than one daughter, Trevino writes. She adds that the Migration Policy Institute reports that a family of four already must pay an average of $2,430 in U.S. naturalization fees, which are "among the highest in the world."

Trevino concludes that although the HPV vaccine helps prevent cervical cancer, "if the government is intent on imposing such a financial burden on immigrant families, it should either subsidize the cost of the vaccine or deliver on the promise of what the United States has always stood for: the freedom to choose" (Trevino, USA Today, 10/17).

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