'Breakthrough' STD vaccine spurs debate.

Byline: Jan Jarvis

Jun. 29--Earlier this month, the first vaccine to protect against cervical cancer was hailed as a major breakthrough in public health that could spare future generations from a deadly disease. But the three-dose vaccine comes with a catch: To be most effective it must be administered before girls become sexually active. That has triggered a debate about whether it should be mandatory for girls still in elementary school to be vaccinated against a cancer that is caused by a sexually transmitted disease. Mary Robinson, the mother of Hannah, 16, and Rachel, 12, called the decision "a no-brainer." "Truly the message is, 'Let's try to avoid cancer; none of the other issues really matter,'" she said. "I don't know why I wouldn't give it to them." The Food and Drug Administration on June 8 approved Merck's Gardasil for girls and women from 9 to 26 years old. The vaccine has been shown to be nearly 100 percent effective in preventing human papillomavirus infections associated with 70 percent of all cervical-cancer cases. It also protects against about 90 percent of genital warts.…