| Staff writer
Should girls be required to get the new Gardasil vaccine
before entering sixth grade in New York state?
New York State Senate Democrats are holding a public hearing
in Rochester today to ask that question and to discuss access for
uninsured girls and women.
Organizers expect testimony from groups in favor of and
opposed to making the vaccine mandatory.
Virginia and Texas have passed laws making the vaccine
mandatory by next September, and other states are considering it.
The rules typically allow parents to opt out if they object.
Participants at the Rochester hearing will include
researchers from University of Rochester who developed the HPV
vaccine, Rochester NOW,
Women's Health Collaborative,
New
York State Nurses Association, Employer Alliance for Affordable
Health Care and state senators such as Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten
Island.
Gardasil protects against the types of human papillomavirus
that cause most cervical cancers and most genital warts.
HPV is a sexually transmitted disease.
The three-shot vaccine against it is approved for girls and
women ages 9 to 26 and is recommended as a routine immunization for
girls ages 11 or 12.
The hearing, the first of a series statewide, will be from 1
to 4 p.m. today at UR in Seminar Room 101 in the Advancement and
Alumni Center, 300 East River Road.
For questions, call (518) 455-2643.
CSWINGLE@DemocratandChronicle.com
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