Well, if REAL People are Going to Die…

“Here’s the headline from my morning paper: “HPV Factors in Throat Cancer: Study Could Shift Debate About Vaccine.” You bet it will. Up to now the HPV vaccine—which, again, has proven 100 percent effective against the cancer-causing strains of the virus—could merely prevent 10,000 cases of cervical cancer in American women every year, along with 4,000 deaths. But now the debate could shift—it will shift, it already has shifted—because it’s no longer “just” the lives of 4,000 American women that are on the line, but the sex lives of 150 million American men”.

I should be happy about whatever it takes to get a vaccine that PREVENTS CANCER covered by every insurance program out there, but fuck, this observation makes me angry. Cause it’s fucking true.

Who cares about 4,000 dead women? I mean, now we’re talking about something that could… that could… hurt men!!!

Well then, sign everybody up.

It would also make it more likely that the vaccine would be given to women AND men (and yes, I believe it should be mandatory for men – who do you think most women get HPV from, the Easter Bunny?), and that’s a huge omission that’s been pissing me off from the start.

God DAMN, this makes me angry.

I must be feeling better.