Mandating HPV Vaccination — Private Rights, Public Good

Abstract

TO THE EDITOR:Those who oppose mandating vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) as a condition for school entry generally open the debate with two fundamental questions. First, how can the government interfere in the medical decisions parents make for their children by compelling immunizations for school entry? Second, how can the HPV vaccine be a good candidate for school mandates when HPV infection is transmitted only through intimate contact, not through casual encounters, as with other diseases that are preventable with vaccines? In fact, requiring vaccination against HPV for school entry is firmly rooted in American jurisprudence. The Supreme Court, . . .