HPV vaccinations

For space reasons, I had to cut a paragraph out of this morning's editorial on the proposed mandatory vaccinations for all sixth-grade girls against cervical cancer. I put that paragraph and some more material out here for comment.

West Virginia has 1.8 million people. The population of the United State is about 300 million. Thus, West Virginia has about six-tenths of 1 percent of the nation’s population. Multiply that by the 4,800 predicted deaths from cervical cancer, and you get about 29 cervical cancer deaths expected in West Virginia this year. Multiply that by 1.5 because our rate is 50 percent higher than the national average, and you still have 44 expected deaths, rounding upward. Then figure that the vaccine is effective in only 70 percent of those expected cases, and the vaccine would save 31 lives in West Virginia this year.

Not meaning to minimize those 31 lives, but that is fewer than the number who died in ATV-related accidents in the state last year.

To vaccinate all sixth-grade girls in West Virginia would cost about $3.7 million. Again, not minimizing the lives that would be saved, but we’re talking about spending $3.7 million a year to save 31 lives, or about $119,000 per life. I hate it when people try to assign monetary values to life, but would the $3.7 million be better spent elsewhere?

And until the connection between the vaccine’s maker (Merck) and the group lobbying for mandatory vaccination is cleared up, can people trust this push for mandatory vaccinations?