Approximately 20 million people in the United Sates are infected with the Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV, according to Planned Parenthood’s website. HPV is a virus that is contracted by genital skin-to-skin contact and most of those who are infected rarely show symptoms.

Now there is a vaccine called Gardasil that can prevent types six, 11, 16 and 18 in women. Types six and 11 cause about 90 percent of genital wart cases and types 16 and 18 account for 70 percent of reported cases of cervical cancer according to a Merck & Co. Inc. press release in June. It is the first vaccine that is designed to prevent cancer.

Gardasil consists of three doses over a six month period which is recommended for girls as young as nine up to the clinically tested age of 26. Possible side effects are pain, swelling, itching, redness at the injection site, fever, nausea and dizziness.

This health breakthrough caused some states to require it for every girl entering the sixth grade. Texas, the first state to make the HPV vaccination a requirement, believes that, “The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” as stated by Texan Governor Rick Perry in a February article published on KFOXTV web site.

“I think if insurance would cover it everyone should get it because it prevents cervical cancer,” agrees Senior Kelsey Hillegass.

However opponents believe that this mandate condones premarital sex and upends the way parents raise their children.

The cost of the vaccine, excluding administration of it, is $360 for the full series according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention web site. Although many large insurance companies cover the cost of the vaccine, others may not. This vaccine is costly compared to the $80 meningitis vaccine that is mandatory for college students residing in dormitories as stated by Brown University’s web site.

“If people don’t have insurance then the government should cover it since they made it a requirement,” Hillegass believes