Seventh-graders in all public and private schools in Rhode Island are now required to get the HPV vaccine. Starting this fall, seventh-graders who do not get the vaccine will not be allowed to attend school unless their parents seek an exemption for medical or religious reasons, the Providence Journal reported Tuesday.
Tricia Washburn, chief of the office of immunization for the Rhode Island Department of Health, said the Centers for Disease Control found no safety concerns with the vaccine.
The bottom line is that HPV is the most sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. she said. We are interested in protecting the public health. We feel it shouldnt be treated any differently than any of the other vaccines recommended by the CDC.
She said the Department of Health mandated the vaccine, unlike most states, because Rhode Island incorporates all CDC-recommended vaccines into the states school immunization regulations. Rhode Island joins Virginia and Washington, D.C. in requiring the vaccine.