Lawmakers consider requiring HPV vaccine for students across NY

There are a pair of bills being considered in Albany that would require kids to be vaccinated for HPV, even without parental consent.

News 12 Staff

Nov 24, 2019, 10:54 PM

Updated 1,775 days ago

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State lawmakers are considering requiring the HPV vaccine for students across New York.
There are a pair of bills being considered in Albany that would require kids to be vaccinated for HPV, even without parental consent.
Children are already required to get a number of vaccines in order to go to school. But the proposals for the HPV vaccine are getting mixed reaction from some parents.
Dr. John Zaso, a pediatrician, says he urges parents to get the necessary vaccines for their kids, but says he's not a fan of the proposed laws.
"The way they're trying to execute the proposal to push these vaccines forward is terrible," he says. And while he says he firmly supports immunizations, he believes parents should be involved.
"You're taking all control out of parents' hands. I'm a staunch immunizer and I make no bones about that, but you still need to have parents in the loop," Dr. Zaso says. "It's not something we want to have the state control or the school districts, which is what they want to do... is to have in-school immunizations."
Zaso says the vaccine is safe, but he doesn't believe that HPV needs to be mandated like vaccines for more contagious viruses, such as measles.
Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington, D.C. all require the HPV vaccine for school attendance. New York is among eight other states considering similar proposals.
MORE INFORMATION: CDC info on HPV vaccine