That study, he said, found that “including boys raised the cost, to much more than is usually though to be acceptable for the health benefit.”
The medical ethicist said that doctors “could debate the best way to prevent HPV infection among women,” a question that is both morally and technically complex.
“But to recommend routine HPV immunization among boys, that's much less debatable,” Brehany said.
“They'll say, 'Well, it will do some good.' Yes, you'll do some good, but you''ll spend a ton of money that probably should be spent on other things.”
“And you may send some bad messages, too: 'Hey, kids, you got this immunization. You're safe.' You can introduce even more problems there.”
If Brehany questions whether the plan to vaccinate boys will help ensure females' safety, he has no doubt that it represents a poor use of resources when it comes to men's own health.
“Routine immunization of boys, with a three-dose regimen at $130 dollars a dose, to help prevent certain cancers mostly associated with male-to-male sexual contact, is an imprudent and bad public policy decision,” he stated.
And with health care costs and public debt both on the rise, the head of the Catholic Medical Association believes public officials must weigh their decisions carefully.
“Individuals have limited funds, and so do governments. When you force them, or induce them, to spend money on things for which the benefit is low, they are not going to be spending money on some other things.”
“States are going broke paying for Medicaid, for example. They are proposing to cut, or severely limit, the days of hospitalization per year that Medicaid patients are eligible for.”
“Let's say someone were to make it a state policy, that Gardasil were mandated for children,” Brehany speculated. “They'll pay Merck $100 a dose, and they're not going to have money for other things.”
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“When people are saying, 'You don't get to go in the hospital,' or 'You get only so many days of dialysis,' then you'll have to look at all the other things we're spending money on – like Gardasil for boys. What do you really get for it?”