Re: [asa] Re: [ASA] Mandatory HPV vaccination

*Except it isn't mandatory. In Texas (and I think in all the other states
where this is coming up), families can "opt out" if they want.*

Well, it *is* mandatory *unless* you opt out. Opt out rights can be very
tricky. I believe there's a behavioral law and economics literature on
opt-out and opt-in mechanisms, particularly in the context of consumer
rebates and class actions. Most people don't opt-out, even if they don't
really want to be included. Courts have upheld the constitutionality of
opt-out class actions, for example, but some critics suggest that
constitutional due process rights (such as the right to pursue one's own
lawsuit instead of participating in a class action) should be presumed to be
in effect unless a person affirmatively disavows that right. One could
argue that a law that presumes a family will choose to turn this particular
vaccination decision over to the state, absent an affirmative opt-out, gets
the balance wrong.

*The other legitimate question that people have raised is the active role of
the company that owns the vaccine in lobbying for states to pass such laws.*

Interestingly, I saw a television commercial tonight on NBC for one of the
vaccines. Slick production, with attractive, smiling young women talking
about protecting themselves against cervical cancer.

On 2/6/07, SteamDoc@aol.com <SteamDoc@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> David Opderbeck wrote:
> > I think the problem is the mandatory nature of this executive order.
> > Mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren are appropriate for
communicable
> > diseases that are transmitted by ordinary social contact. It seems very
> > different to me to require that kids be vaccinated against an STD. It
does
> > seem like the kind of thing families should decide for themselves. I
could
> > see maybe making state funding available for any family that chooses the

> > vaccine.
>
> Except it isn't mandatory. In Texas (and I think in all the other states
where this is coming up), families can "opt out" if they want.
>
> A legitimate question that some have raised is the cost-benefit analysis.
The vaccine is pretty expensive (a few hundred dollars as I recall). The
cancer prevented, while certainly tragic, is not extremely common.
So society is spending hundreds of thousands, or maybe millions, of dollars
for each cancer prevented. What are the opportunity costs for that
expense? If insurance is required to cover it, how much will premiums go up
and how many people will go uninsured as a result?
> I'm not advocating any specific answer to these questions, but I think
they need to be asked in such a situation.
> And one could point out that they are already making such a calculation to
some extent by not requiring the vaccination for boys, although that would
also prevent some cancers (albeit a much smaller number).
>
> The other legitimate question that people have raised is the active role
of the company that owns the vaccine in lobbying for states to pass such
laws.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Allan H. Harvey, Boulder, Colorado | SteamDoc@aol.com
> "Any opinions expressed here are mine, and should not be
> attributed to my employer, my wife, or my cat"

-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Web:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com
Blog:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com/throughaglass.html
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