At its peak, number, more than 50,000 Americans suffered from polio, and people continued to contract the disease, become paralyzed and die even after two vaccines became available.

It wasn’t until the vaccines were mandated that people’s lives were saved.

I’m worried that this could become the scenario with the new HPV vaccine for human papillomavirus. If too many girls and young women don’t learn about it and get vaccinated, they may die of cervical cancer when they get older, like thousands of American women do now.

The way I like to learn is by doing my own research, and that’s how I found out about the polio vaccine. I also ask lots of questions. (This may be why I’m in Y-Press). Issues like insurance coverage, past vaccination successes, and long-term effectiveness have not been part of the current discussion regarding the HPV vaccine. But I think they should be. That way, girls, like me, can make a more educated decision on a topic that could change their future.

With poverty rates soaring, many children, numbering 8.3 million according to the 2005 census, are left with limited health care options.

While some government programs provide the vaccine to low-income families who are uninsured or on Medicaid, there are still poor people who work and don’t have insurance. Furthermore, families living on poverty often have trouble with transportation or the parents work odd hours that make it difficult for them to get their children to a clinic. The HPV shot is one of the most expensive vaccines in history expensive at $120 per shot, and three shots are required over six months, totaling $360.

But if the vaccine were mandated, insurance companies and the government would be forced to pay for children who are uninsured and make it widely available. Many teens, from middle-class backgrounds, including me, don’t take these ideas into consideration when formulating our opinions, because we rarely have to deal with paying the bills.

I realize that this new vaccination has unknown long-term effects. No one knows yet how long the vaccine will protect teens from HPV. There may also be side effects that haven’t been discovered yet. For these reasons, many girls I’ve talked with aren’t sure about mandating the vaccine. But isn’t this the case with all new medicines? At the end of every informational drug commercial, an announcer talks lightening fast about possible side effects. To me, the risk is worth taking.

A new Indiana law requires HPV information be distributed to parents of sixth-grade girls.

But will this be enough? I signed up for this Y-Press story and had the opportunity to do research and interviews. What about the girls who are already in high school, like me, but have received no information on the topic? They need access to the same information I’ve had, and that’s why I’m writing this piece.

Based on what I’ve learned so far, I support mandating the vaccine. It seems like a no-brainer. Why not require teenagers to be vaccinated for a common STD sexually transmitted disease where one-third of its strains leads to cervical cancer? The high cost will be balanced out by the requirement of insurance companies and Medicaid to pay for those who need financial aid; the unknown long-term effects will be balanced out by the miraculous saving of lives.

For me, personal choice is put second here, just like it was when the polio vaccine.

Copyright 2007 Y-Press