A state lawmaker says she'll oppose mandatory vaccines against a virus that causes cervical cancer. Representative Leah Vukmir 's concerns include whether state should even be mandating the vaccines. "That discussion really should be taking place between doctors and patients," says the Milwaukee Republican. "We in Madison really shouldn't be making that decision."
Vukmir notes the series of three shots is expensive, and she's also concerned about the role the vaccine's manufacturer, Merck, has had in promoting the idea.
And Vukmir, herself a nurse, doesn't want the promise of the vaccine to detract from what she says is still "the gold standard" for detecting cervical cancer. "There is a concern by many of us in the health care field, that individuals will thnk that if they get this shot once in their life, that they will never have to be checked by a pap smear." A proposed bill would mandate the vaccine for sixth grade girls in Wisconsin. Vukmir says the bill won't pass through the Assembly Health committee, which she chairs.