It's the daughters of lower-income, minority families who are really at risk.
Cervical cancer has a high survival rate if treated early, but early treatment depends on regular screenings. Lower-income women are less likely to receive annual pap smears -- and so for them, the disease is more likely to be deadly. More than half of all U.S. women diagnosed with cervical cancer have not had a pap test in the last three years, and the incidence of cervical cancer is approximately 1.5 times higher among African American and Latina women than among white women.
That's why state-level debates over whether to make the vaccine mandatory for 11- and 12-year-old girls are so important. Women's health advocates are concerned that lower-income girls -- those who need the vaccine most -- won't get the shots unless they are required for school admission. "Drop-out rates begin at 13," said Cynthia Dailard*, senior public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute. "How do we reach these individuals before they're disconnected from health care later in life? This is a key way to do that." Historically, requiring vaccines for school attendance has helped to close racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps in immunization rates.
