According to a recent poll from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, adults have surprisingly nuanced opinions on STD prevention for teens. The poll was designed to learn more about public support for HPV vaccination without parental consent. Scientists wanted to understand why teenagers are less likely to get the HPV vaccine than other recommended vaccinations.
Researchers found that although 74 percent of adults think that vaccines are a good way to prevent disease, only 35 percent think that Gardasil is safe - potentially reflecting public misinformation campaigns about the vaccine. Interestingly, it's not just a matter of the vaccine being associated with sexual behavior. Far more adults supported programs for treating and preventing STDs without parental consent than allowing vaccination. Their reasons for requiring parental consent varied.
- 86 percent thought that vaccination should be a parent's decision.
- 43 percent were worried about HPV vaccine side effects
- 39 percent had heard bad things about the HPV vaccine
- 36 percent thought that age 11 or 12 was too young to receive the vaccine
That said, 36 percent also thought that there shouldn't be any state laws mandating vaccinations, which is an important reminder that vaccine politics go far beyond the sexual. This is a concern, since vaccination is an incredibly important tool against infectious diseases - many of which were deadly before vaccines were available. Furthermore, vaccines need wide coverage for them to work, and extensive coverage is greatly helped by mandates.
Population coverage is important because vaccination effects aren't only direct. They also work by creating herd immunity in the population. Vaccines make it less likely that anyone who can't be vaccinated, or for whom the vaccination doesn't work, will come in contact with someone who will make them sick. As such, in some ways, vaccination is as much a public service as an individual health decision.
Source: http://std.about.com/b/2012/08/17/before-and-after.htm
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