Posted on 02/02/2007 1:28:44 PM PST by YCTHouston
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry ordered today that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots.
The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Details of the order were not immediately available, but the governor's office confirmed to The Associated Press that he was signing the order and he would comment Friday afternoon.
Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
Toomey was expected to be able to woo conservative legislators concerned about the requirement stepping on parent's rights and about signaling tacit approval of sexual activity to young girls. Delisi, as head of the House public health committee, which likely would have considered legislation filed by a Democratic member, also would have helped ease conservative opposition.
Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.
It wasn't immediately clear how long the order would last and whether the legislation was still necessary. However it could have been difficult to muster support from lawmakers who champion abstinence education and parents' rights.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion rights and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base.
But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different than the one that protects children against polio.
"If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals to have those vaccines available," he said.
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit stating that he or she objected to the vaccine for religious or philosophical reasons.
Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say mandates take away parents' rights to be the primary medical decision maker for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group's president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck's vaccine division sits on Women in Government's business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
All parents of non-whore Texan children can refuse the vaccine.
I'd prefer the whore children to get the vaccine, because it will save me tax money in the long run.
I voted for Kinky.
Perry used to identify himself as a Democrat. As did OneToughGrandma. They were Democrats in the Age of Reagan.
RINO.
But homosexuality will still be celebrated as a safe and healthy alternative lifestyle.
But we expect they will have sex at some point in their lives. Are you saying they should wait until their wedding is planned, and get the shot the week before?
Insane! Far better to use abstinence, that definitely prevents it. It is true that HPV can lead to Cervical cancer, but usually the abnormal pap gives a warning long before it gets to that point of actually cancer. Other STDs can be much worse, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and of course AIDs. Then there are lots others, chlamydia and trich, and herpes come to mind.
Perry would do far more good at working to end extra marital sex, and most especially among kids. It can be done, and was at one time. I would never have risked having to tell my parents I was pregnant, nor that I had some disease.
I have worked as a health care provider for years and it is really sad to see these young women have casual sex and come in with any of the STDs or pregnanat.
Will illegal immigrants be required to get vaccinated too? Because the Gov. seems to be exempting them from all sorts of rules designed to make living in Texas so wonderful.
Do you not think something is wrong with government when it places the burden on parents to declare that their children are not whores?
The proper way to do this would've been to make it available on a voluntary basis. But that wouldn't guarantee Merck a permanent clientel of millions of school children, each required to pay $360 for STD prevention. And that is why Rick Perry is a bigger whore than he apparently thinks half the schoolkids of Texas are. Every parent in the state should be up in arms over there because Perry's order PRESUMES that all children need STD vaccinces. If they don't want this vaccine the burden is on them and their parents to opt out!
Note to all Texans: your governor just called your daughter a slut.
BUT - There ARE side effects. Check this out -
National Vaccine Information Center
www.NVIC.org
Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine Safety
Analysis of Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System Reports:
Adverse Reactions, Concerns and Implications
On June 8th 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of GARDASIL, and on June 29th the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend adding GARDASIL human papilloma virus vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control's national childhood recommended immunization schedule. On July 14th the first report of a serious reaction to the vaccine was filed with the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
A 16-year-old Illinois girl was vaccinated July 7th and 13 days later developed symptoms eventually diagnosed as Guillian-Barre Syndrome. A 14-year-old girl in the District of Columbia was vaccinated on July 11th and complained of severe pain immediately following the injection, fell off the examining table and experienced a 10 to 15 second fainting spell ending up in the emergency room with a headache and speech problems. The report of this reaction, the first in the nation, was filed on July 14th, 15 days after the ACIP vote.
Six months later, 82 reports of GARDASIL reactions have been submitted to VAERS on behalf of at least 84 young girls and 2 boys.[1] Reaction reports have come in from 21 states and the District of Columbia.[2] Reactions were reported for children and young adults ranging in age from 11 to 27. Of the reports indicating what day the vaccine was given and the reaction occurred, 63 percent stated that the reaction occurred the same day the vaccine was given. All but three of the reports were for reactions that occurred within one week of vaccination.
This document is divided into three sections. The first section describes reaction reports for a number of reported adverse events: neurological symptoms including syncopal episodes and seizures, arthralgia and joint pain, Guillian-Barre Syndrome, and other immunological reactions. The second section addresses concerns related to vaccinating individuals already infected with HPV. The last section discusses issues that need to be addressed by government regulators and the manufacturer and considerations for clinicians and consumers.
Reported Adverse Events
Presumably, the reactions described below occurred after the first dose of GARDASIL. GARDASIL is given in a three-dose series. None of the reports stated that the children and adults experiencing problems had previously been vaccinated with GARDASIL.
Syncopal Episodes and Seizures. One-quarter of all reports filed after GARDASIL vaccination were for neurologic adverse events including loss of consciousness, syncope, syncopal events and seizures. An additional five reports included symptoms of dizziness and feeling faint.
Syncope is defined as a temporary suspension of consciousness due to generalized cerebral ischemia (inadequate blood flow and lack of oxygen). The reports of syncopal episodes and their descriptions are remarkable. A physician from Washington State reported that in one morning, three patients experienced syncopal episodes. On August 8th another physician's office reported that two patients experienced syncopal episodes on the same day.
Although these reports did not detail what happened to the individuals experiencing these syncopal episodes, other reports did. The 14-year-old DC girl mentioned earlier experienced a syncopal episode combined with amblyopia (poor vision in one eye), abnormal speech, vomiting, and headache. Also experiencing vision problems, a 17-year-old New York girl reported feeling dizzy and her vision went "black for a few seconds" and she turned pale and lips turned purple and she also had fever and chills. Similar to the DC girl, on July 18th immediately after being vaccinated, a 22-year-old Kentucky woman experienced slurred speech accompanied by pallor and shock. On August 29th, two hours after being vaccinated, a 15-year-old New York girl who had a history of asthma and was on four asthma medications experienced difficulty swallowing prompting a visit to the emergency room. On August 17th, 15 minutes after being vaccinated, a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl passed out in the car on the way home.
Most of the reports do not describe what happened as a result of the syncopal episode but a few do. One 11-year-old Florida girl fell from the examining table and two Washington girls fell - a 16-year-old girl fell and hit her head on a carpeted concrete surface and a 14-year-old girl fell down and broke her nose.
Whether the 22 girls who experienced syncopal episodes actually experienced atonic seizures cannot be determined from these reports. Four girls, however, displayed observable seizure activity. The 11-year-old Florida girl who fell from the table also displayed "tonic posturing." Tonic posturing is a type of seizure where sustained contraction of muscles in the legs and arms occurs and consciousness is impaired. The 16-year-old Washington girl who fell and hit her head on the floor lost consciousness for one minute and displayed tonic posturing of her right hand. Additionally, a 15-year-old girl from Virginia was described as having "a mild seizure." In California, a 13-year-old girl was walking down the hall after her vaccination, fell and had a 15-second tonic/clonic seizure. Tonic/clonic seizures are also known as "grand mal" seizures.
Additionally, there were reports of dyskinesia (difficulty or distortion in performing voluntary movements) and hypokinesia (slow or diminished movement of the body musculature) both of which have neurological implications.
Arthralgia, Joint Pain and Fever. Arthralgia is defined as pain in the joints. Concerns about arthritis were raised during the GARDASIL clinical trials. Reports of arthralgia in one or more joints accompanied by fever were noted in five instances from four young girls and women in Wisconsin, Texas and New York, and one 18-year-old New York male.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Reports state that two recently vaccinated 16-year-old girls - one from Illinois and the other from Mississippi - were diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) following vaccination with GARDASIL. In both cases, the onset of symptoms occurred 13 days after vaccination. According to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke:
GBS is a serious disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances, the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the patient is almost totally paralyzed. … Vaccinations can trigger onset of GBS.[3]
The Illinois girl described earlier was vaccinated on July 7th and symptoms were evident by July 20th. The girl also experienced gait abnormalities (trouble walking properly), asthenia (weakness without loss of strength), paresthesia (burning, prickling, tingling or numbness sensation usually felt in the hands, arms, feet and legs), and hyperkinesia (abnormal increase in muscle movement). The Mississippi girl was vaccinated on July 31st and by August 13th she had increasing numbness and tingling in her feet and hands and was subsequently evaluated by a neurologist and diagnosed with GBS. The current health status of these girls is not known.
In both of these cases, the girls were also vaccinated with Aventis Pasteur's Menactra, a vaccine for meningococcal infections. Menactra has previously been associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and the FDA and others have issued alerts.
Other Adverse Reactions. Additionally, a number of other reactions to GARDASIL are noted in VAERS reports and they include: urticaria (hives); pruritus (itching); macular and papular rashes; blisters and vesicles near the injection site; swollen arms; lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes); red, hot swollen knots at injection site; burning, stabbing, severe and radiating pain at the injection site and in the affected limb during and after injection; nausea and vomiting; infections and skin ulcers, and other allergic reactions.
More at: http://www.nvic.org/
If your child goes to government schools, you have already given those rights up. See the Palmdale decision....
Why start at age 11 or 12? Is it necessary for the shot to be effective? Or is it because they are considered "not at risk" before that age?
Places the burden on parents to decline a vaccine which common sense says is a good idea?
Even if you're not a whore, it doesn't mean you can't get raped.
What is with you people?
Boys may not get cervical cancer but they sure as heck can get venereal warts, which are caused by HPV, which they can transmit to their partners.
"I voted for Kinky."
Me too! I read a smidgin of an article this morning in the AAS saying Perry was going to Washington in an attempt to pay back donors a million dollars in political contributions. Wonder who for?
It would be up to them as an ADULT to decide if they want the vaccination! Dear Lord! NO NANNY STATE! TY!
And boys don't care if they give their partner a potentially fatal virus; the continuing spread of AIDS demonstrates that.
The Sex Positive agenda finds abstinence to be "unhealthy" as it is supression of sexual desires. They believe sex to be a birthright and that everyone should be sexually active at every age.
Playbook for Kids About Sex (Paperback)by Joani Blank, Marcia Quackenbush (Illustrator)
Amazon customer review:
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Without mentioning any theory, the Playbook draws on the brilliant and insightful work of Dr. Wilhelm Reich, ("Children of the Future"; "The Sexual Revolution"). Without going into political sloganeering, the Playbook is an embodiment of straightforward Feminist perceptions of power, gender, race and sexuality. Without getting legalistic, or falling into any clinical, pseudo-scientific argumentations, the Playbook takes the victories of the Gay Rights Movement into a whole new sphere: it helps the future adult's sense of reality be formed by assuming right from the start that it's Natural to have a freedom of choice in sexual identity!
Caveat emptor
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