This is just for your information thanks to Blulitespecial. I thought it was kind of interesting in light of the fact that we have immigrants running around the US with what I would characterize as more important diseases such as TB and HIV. From AP:
DALLAS — An expensive cervical cancer vaccine is now needed by young female immigrants before they can become legal U.S. residents, a requirement that immigration advocates say is unfair.
Federal officials recently added the Gardasil vaccine to a list of vaccinations that immigrants must have before they can obtain green cards. The cervical cancer vaccine is required of females ages 11 to 26.
The vaccine protects against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts. But the vaccine is one of the most expensive and controversial, primarily because it is given at a young age.
Gardasil, given in three shots over a six-month period, costs about $400. That puts an added burden on green card applicants already paying more than $1,000 in fees and hundreds of dollars for mandatory medical exams, advocates say.
I’m going to bet this cost issue is bogus because likely the taxpayer will end up picking up the tab.