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Legislators want school HPV info

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Also by Jessi Polsky:

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by Jessi Polsky

Friday, September 28, 2007

Legislation calling for a statewide campaign to educate students and parents about the benefits of the human papilloma virus vaccine received positive feedback at a public hearing Tuesday.

The bill was proposed by Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. J.A. "Doc" Hines, R-Oxford, and if passed, it would require the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to distribute information on the HPV vaccine to parents.

Kory Kozloski, chief of staff for Taylor, said the senator has taken an active interest in the vaccine since learning about it at a women's government advocacy group a couple years ago.

"[Taylor] learned about this from Women in Government," Kozloski said. "She became a strong advocate of teaching people about the vaccine."

If left untreated, HPV can cause cervical cancer. This disease, Kozloski added, is the second most common type of cancer among women throughout the world, killing more than 4,000 women annually. The vaccine prevents up to 99 percent of all cases of cervical cancer.

According to Kozloski, the proposed bill aims to provide parents with information so they can make an educated decision about the vaccine.

"This gives information to parents and recommends they vaccinate their girls against the disease," Kozloski said.

A public hearing, Kozloski said, was held at the Capitol Tuesday where attendees voiced overwhelming support for the legislation. About 35 people attended with only one or two testifying in opposition to the bill.

"Legislators also seemed to respond favorably toward the bill," Kozloski said.

The bill's plan, Kozloski added, is similar to the campaign successfully used during the meningitis scare in Wisconsin.

The educational materials about the HPV shot required by the bill would be handed out at public schools along with information about other vaccines the Department of Public Instruction gives to parents.

"The Department of Health and Family Services would help to compile the information and pass it along to the Department of Instruction," Kozloski said.

Public schools would pay for the materials, which would also be available to the public on the Internet.

"Because [the information about the vaccine] is educational and schools already distribute these materials, the cost is minimal and schools would pick it up," Kozloski said.

Executive Director of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians Larry Pheifer said he favors the current version of the bill because if passed, it only requires parents receive information about the HPV vaccine.

"We support the information being provided," Pheifer said. "We are not supportive of [the vaccine] being mandated…due to safety and cost."

Pheifer added he supports giving the HPV shot to adolescents.

"Family physicians are concerned about the whole person, [and] we see this as something that is positive."

Wisconsin Family Action Inc. declined to comment on the proposal.

The Assembly's version of the bill is slated to be heard by the Assembly Public Health Committee, and the Republican version is scheduled for a hearing Oct. 17.

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