Health Care Policy Issue

Health Care Policy Issue

Executive Summary

The Food and Drug Administration approved, in 2006, the vaccination against HPV. It realized this after determining that it was responsible for three quarters of all the cases of cervical cancer. Similarly, other committees also approved this vaccination for girls. The District of Columbia was one of the first of several states that made this mandatory (Tavernise, 2013).

There is a lot of debate going on regarding this issue as people are against this vaccine as they claim that it will have a negative impact on the health of girls. Another concern is that since Merck has been contracted to supply all the vaccinations, there are chances that this is actually a deal in order to make profits. Therefore, people are reluctant to get their daughters vaccinated. This policy brief provides details about this issue and its solution according to which the government of Pennsylvania can base their policy and make this vaccination mandatory.

Problem Statement

There is a need to formulate a policy in order to get people vaccinated against the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). This virus has to be taken seriously as it affects a lot of people and can even lead to cancer.

Contextual Background

Health care policies aimed at sexual health are usually considered controversial due to which they often do not gain political support. For example, policies regarding contraception and abortion are common examples of policies that attracted a lot of criticism. Since most of the people these policies are directed to are women, there is a higher level of debate that they can adversely affect their health while males are always exempted (Hartley et al, 2008).

The occurrence of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is very high and the rate of people being infected is also increasing. Although this infection can be completely eliminated from the body, some types can lead to the development of cancer and therefore, proper care should be taken so that people do not get infected. Since this infection is more common in females, only this gender was subjected to the vaccines that were developed. The marketing of this vaccine to females did not gain momentum because people were not attracted by the marketing activities. People suggested that since it is only being targeted to women, it can be controversial towards the sexual health of women.

Although the focus of the vaccinations is on females, since they are most likely to be affected by genital warts and cervical cancer, HPV also has been linked to other cancers including that in men. Studies have shown that HPC can lead to cancer of the neck, head, penis, vagina, vulva, and anus. These types of cancer are all caused due to sexual activity and therefore this spread of the virus is very common. Although not as deadly as the HIV virus, however, precaution has to be taken in order to prevent its spread (Kabage, 2012).

Studies also show that the number of head and neck cancer caused due to HPV is increasing compared to other ...