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GOVERNOR PALIN: "I was governor of Alaska at the time that that issue came down,
and I told our health and human services department Alaska
was not going to mandate immunizations for our teenage daughters.
And there had to have been something to that whole issue
because it just didn't sound like Governor Perry. Governor Perry was,
you know, the proverbial anti-government type of maverick there in Texas,
and yet on this issue, he decided that he was going to know
better than a parent was going to know in terms of what the health care
or health benefit would be for their teenage daughters.
So I knew there was something to it."

Governor Palin’s administration proudly gave Gardasil to Medicaid recipients in Alaska. They were “THRILLED”. Our tax dollars at work:

http://hss.state.ak.us/press/2007/pr053107fed-funding-hpv-vax.htm

” Health officials to make HPV and meningococcal vaccines available to more Alaska children

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( Juneau, Alaska) The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced today that an increase in federal funding will make it possible for all Alaska girls ages 9 through 18 to receive Gardasil, the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, at no cost.

Earlier this spring, the department had said it could provide free Gardasil only to Alaska girls who met certain eligibility requirements. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided additional funds for Alaska to obtain more vaccine. This boost in federal aid will enable more Alaska girls to receive Gardasil. Distribution of this vaccine to providers is just beginning, so state health officials suggest calling providers before visiting local clinics to find out if the vaccine is available.

“We are thrilled that this unanticipated funding will allow us to provide the vaccine for all eligible girls,” said Laurel Wood, Alaska’s immunization program manager. “Although we have no guarantee that this funding will be available in future years, we hope to immunize as many Alaska girls as possible while we have this unique opportunity.”

The federal government approved Gardasil last summer to prevent certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) known to cause cervical cancer. Gardasil is the most expensive vaccine recommended today, with a retail cost of at least $360 for three shots given over six months.

The CDC recommends the vaccine for girls and women 9 through 26 years old, but the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services only has funding to cover the vaccine for those ages 9 through 18. Women ages 19 through 26 may be able to receive some coverage through Medicaid, their health insurance companies or a special financial aid program set up by Merck & Co. Inc., the vaccine’s manufacturer.

The additional federal money for Alaska also means the department can expand availability of Menactra ®, the vaccine that protects against bacterial meningitis. Although the department previously provided Menactra only for limited age groups, it now will make the vaccine available at no cost for boys and girls ages 11 through 18.”

So, I see you HAVE the quote, so you know she never said that Merck talked to her, or that she told them no.

As I said, in another part of her interview, she mentioned her e-mail, which was about the BoE mandating the chicken pox vaccine.

The only thing I can't really figure out how to defend Palin about in her statement is her saying she told her health and human services department that Alaska was not going to mandate immunizations.

I'm not sure what she meant about that. In her e-mail, she clearly indicates that as Governor, she has no control over immunization mandates. Those are controlled by the Board of Education. She couldn't stop the Chicken Pox vaccine, even though she opposed it. So if her BoE had decided to put Gardasil on their list, she wouldn't have been able to stop that either.

Remember though that when Perry signed his EO, Palin had only been governor for a month. So she may mean here simply that she talked to her HHS department to make sure they didn't do anything to encourage the vaccine.

BTW, Palin was not opposed to giving Gardasil to young girls. She only opposed mandating it. She actually presided over a federally-funded program which used taxpayer dollars to give out free and reduced-price Gardasil vaccines to 8-18 year-old girls.

But again, that was a voluntary program. Palin has been clear that she does not support mandatory Gardasil, or mandatory chickenpox.

I don't know if she is opposed to any other mandatory vaccines. I looked through her record, and saw no indication she ever tried to change Alaska's mandatory vaccine law, nor was their anything in her e-mails about it.

So all I can say for sure is that she opposed the mandatory CP vaccine (because we have the e-mail) and she opposed mandator Garasil (from her statement that you quoted).

The other thing your quote clears up is the claim by some that when Palin endorsed Perry for governor, she wouldn't have known about his Gardasil "problem". This quote proves that she knew ALL about Perry's Gardasil EO, and understood the difficulty with it, as soon as it happened.

She still endorsed him for Governor and called him a true conservative, so apparently it wasn't a disqualifying issue to her.