Hello again everyone! It’s Lindsey again. I apologize for posting this so late in the day. I had an insanely busy day at work. But I’m now done with the insanity that is known as attending a wedding. It was my boyfriend’s brother’s wedding, and despite not being in the wedding party, I’m completely wiped out from the weekend. I can only imagine how Kelsey and all the other newlyweds must feel!

So today I thought I would blog a little about the intersection of science, morals, and religion using a current event as an example. There was a very significant meeting that was held last week, and its results were groundbreaking and put out on all the major news outlets. I’m referring to the FDA panel that reviewed the HPV vaccine and concluded it was effective. I’m gonna try not to bore you with all the science, but HPV is basically a cause of cervical cancer. So by preventing the most common viral STD in America, we can prevent women from getting cancer of the cervix. It’s a landmark discovery that could potentially save thousands of women’s lives around the globe. And let me tell you, the public health community is really celebrating it.

However, like most new discoveries, it is fraught with criticism. For starters, they estimate that the cost for the three dose vaccine will be around $300 for the series. That’s an expensive vaccine by just about anyone’s standards! Officials are starting to worry that the cost will be a barrier to females getting this important vaccine, not just in the US, but around the world, possibly making cervical cancer even more of a “disease of poverty” than it currently is. Additionally, officials say that to be most effective, the vaccine should be given to females (and eventually males) before they reach the age of sexual activity. They want to target girls around the age of 11 or 12, and the critics have started having a field day saying that if girls that young get the vaccine, they will be more likely to participate in risky sexual behavior than they would if they didn’t get it and at an earlier age.

I personally think that the first point is quite valid. After all, cervical cancer rates are lowest in developed countries because of the widespread routine of getting pap smears every year. Women in developing countries (and those in the lower social economic classes here in the US) cannot access this service, either because of cost or because of other barriers. So cervical cancer is already a disease of the poor, and this vaccine, unless the cost is subsidized, might make this health disparity even more serious. For the second point, I think it is ridiculous to think that an 11 year old girl would be more likely to take more risks sexually just because she has the HPV vaccine; it’s the same faulty logic that keeps abstinence-only education funded and in our schools. I personally wouldn’t mind getting the vaccine myself, and I would seriously consider getting my daughter vaccinated when and if I ever have one.

So my challenge tonight to each of you is to get educated and to get tested. Learn more about HPV and the upcoming vaccine. Get your yearly pap smear; it’s the best way to get tested for cervical cancer. Knowledge is power, and you owe it to yourself to know the truth.

This is Lindsey, NNPCW alumna signing off. If you can’t get enough of me, check out my personal blog (http://corevalues5.blogspot.com/). (shameless plug, I know) ~Lindsey

“…you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32