CHILDREN and vaccines can be a controversial combination when it comes to forming public policy. Where the vaccine concerned is designed to protect against a sexually transmitted infection, expect fireworks.
The Republican governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is feeling the heat from religious groups and concerned parents after signing an order on 2 February requiring 11 and 12-year-old Texas schoolgirls to be given a new vaccine called Gardasil. It protects against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11, which cause cervical warts, and HPV 16 and 18, which cause two-thirds of cases of cervical cancer. At least 18 other states…
