Perry's HPV vaccine cronies cash in anyway

About half the girls eligible for the shot -- 11- to 12-year-olds -- who are treated by Dr. Ernest Buck at ABC Pediatrics chose to have the vaccine, Buck said. The pediatrician sees about 75 patients a week.

It also helps that most insurance companies are willing to cover the expensive vaccine, Buck said. Gardasil, the only vaccine of its kind on the market, is approved for girls 9 to 26 in three shots during six months. The vaccine costs $360 to $525 depending on a family's doctor and insurance.

"Parents are recognizing that the vaccine is a cancer-preventing vaccine that has no bearing on when their child might choose to become sexually active," Buck said. "They don't see that getting this vaccine makes their child promiscuous. They know their daughters are young enough that they are not likely to get exposed to sexual behavior."

Shouldn't boys get the shot, too? They get HPV and pass it on. Any chance of eradicating HPV means attacking all reservoirs.