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If Australia had relied on telling children not to have unprotected sex, the HPV rate would not have moved much. But HPV is only one of many infections that us
by DrScump 9y ago
If Australia had relied on telling children not to have unprotected sex, the HPV rate would not have moved much.
But HPV is only one of many infections that use unprotected sex as a vector. The one danger of this kind of policy-making is giving children an illusion of being protected from adverse effects of unprotected sex in general without combining it with advocacy of protection.
- olliej 9y agoYou're right -- but every single study has shown that teaching sex ed properly (covering safe sex, how STDs actually transmit rather than fear mongering) is the most reliable way of reducing STDs, unwanted pregnancy, abortions (largely due to the reduction in unwanted pregnancy), sex abuse, ... The policy of "teach abstinence" fails people much more so than vaccinating against a single vector.
- chiefalchemist 9y agoI think this is a key point. To say "X has failed" when the truth is "X was done wrong / badly and it failed." While a vaccine might not be a license to _____, it also fails to address education, personal responsibility, etc. Sure there are health benefits but if everyone gets a trophy so to speak when and how will the lack of learning Y manifest itself later? That is, give the vaccine. Sure. But don't be so naive to think that education in some form isn't still necessary. Furthermore, Mother Nature is clever and crafty. It's only a matter of time, now that protection is less necessary, before she comes up with something new. I'm not a Luddite. But there are two sides to every advance, and we almost always igrore the unintended consequences until it's too late.