Cervical Cancer Vaccine

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ Seventh-grade students in South Carolina could get a free vaccine to prevent a sexually transmitted, cancer-causing virus under a bill approved by a House panel. A House subcommittee advanced Thursday a measure giving the option for students who are entering the seventh grade. Informational brochures on the vaccine for human papillomavirus, known as HPV, would be provided to parents of sixth-graders. Rep. Bakari Sellers says his bill is about saving lives and money. The Denmark Democrat says the cost of providing the vaccine would be far less than taxpayers paying later through Medicaid and emergency room visits to treat cervical cancer. Similar legislation was defeated unanimously in the House in 2007. It required girls entering seventh grade to get the vaccine, unless parents signed a form opting out.