Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Is Perry's HPV vaccine stance really outrageous?
Bluegrass Pundit ^ | September 17, 2011 | Bluegrass Pundit

Posted on 09/17/2011 7:29:48 AM PDT by Askwhy5times

The short answer is no. The long answer is also no. It is true that trying to implement this vaccine regime by EO was wrong. Perry readily admits that mistake. However, the vaccine is actually a good idea. It is not an assault on innocent 12-year old girls as Michelle Bachmann claimed. It also does not cause retardation as Michelle Bachmann misinformed the American public. The misconception in many people's mind is, since HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, the government is preparing 12 old girls for sexual activity at an early age. That is false. In order for this vaccine to work correctly, it has to be given at that age. The protection they get is a few years down the road. Waiting until the girls are adults and can make their own informed decision will not work. It will be too late for them to take advantage of this potentially lifesaving vaccine. Heather Borden Herve over at Wilton Patch explains:

HPV is also the most common sexually transmitted disease today.

A-ha! Is that what makes this issue hot and—pardon the media parlance pun—sexy? Because somehow when the topic of “innocent little 12 year old girls” gets mixed up with protecting them from a virus that gets transmitted through sexual contact, it suddenly gets to be co-opted by politicians on the basis of protecting moral values—and it gets them airtime.

In full disclosure, I grew up in a household that was comfortable talking about science, medicine and fact. My dad is an OBGYN, so we weren’t afraid of using correct anatomical terminology or talking about human sexuality. It’s formed the basis for the way I approach issues like this one.

The science shows that in order for this vaccine to work it needs to be administered before a person becomes sexually active. According to a statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics following the media uproar after Bachmann’s comments, they “recommend that girls receive [the] HPV vaccine around age 11 or 12. That’s because this is the age at which the vaccine produces the best immune response in the body, and because it’s important to protect girls well before the onset of sexual activity.”

That recommendation was echoed by the CDC and American Academy of Family Physicians....

"The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation. There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement. Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered, and it has an excellent safety record."

A better approach for Gov. Perry would have been to offer the vaccine for free and promote it to parents through a public education program, but hindsight is always 20-20. BTW, the story about Rick Perry sitting at the deathbed of a friend dying of cervical cancer is true. Here name was Heather Burcham.

This isn't just a woman's issue. HPV is also a major risk factor for penile cancer.


TOPICS: Government; Health/Medicine; Politics
KEYWORDS: gardasil; hpv; liarbachmann; perryobama; rickperry
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-192 next last
To: C. Edmund Wright

You are making excuses for behavior that by all rights should be inexcusable. Obviously you have an interest here other than trying to find out the truth of the matter that you’re not disclosing.


21 posted on 09/17/2011 8:01:40 AM PDT by icanhasbailout
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: RVN Airplane Driver
she like my wife, and most women, can’t shut up after the man has conceded

Yes, I completely agree with you on this point.

I like Bachmann, but she has vetted herself out of the Presidency.

22 posted on 09/17/2011 8:03:13 AM PDT by GBA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife; RoosterRedux; jonrick46; deepbluesea; RockinRight; TexMom7; potlatch; ...
Perry Ping....

IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.

IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.

23 posted on 09/17/2011 8:04:16 AM PDT by shield (Rev 2:9 Woe unto those who say they are Judahites and are not, but are of the syna GOG ue of Satan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: GBA
Here, here! Is it outrageous that a politician's instinct is to issue an executive order because he has good intentions? His excuse... he cares about stopping cancer. Oh well, if he really cares then it's okay I guess. Did he apologize because the drug was imperfect or because his instinct was imperfect?

This should have gone through the legislature. He should not have issued an executive order.

Outrageous? No, not really. More like standard operating procedure for politicians. Oh boy, can't wait. Meet the new boss, same as the old.

24 posted on 09/17/2011 8:08:08 AM PDT by Tao Yin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Askwhy5times

the pubies talk about the rights of the u.s. constitution.

the communists talk about “choice”.

so, it’s wrong no matter how you look at it.


25 posted on 09/17/2011 8:09:36 AM PDT by ken21 (ruling class dem + rino progressives -- destroying america for 150 years.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: icanhasbailout
Apparently, with an "opt-in" system, the state cannot or will not pay for the vaccine. It must be on the mandated list for the federal government to pay for the inoculation.

It is a fairly expensive series of shots. That is why Perry went for the opt-out rather than the opt-in.
26 posted on 09/17/2011 8:10:08 AM PDT by Sudetenland (There can be no freedom without God--What man gives, man can take away.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Askwhy5times

Dear Blugrass Pundit; FYI, your article takes liberties with the FAQ the CDC has put out on Gardasil.

http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-vaccine-young-women.htm

Love,

Til

PS: You also can’t believe what the CDC says.

PSS: Thought I’d let you know what the FDA says about your comment about age and immune system:

“Two studies were also performed to measure the immune response to the vaccine among younger females aged 9-15 years. Their immune response was similar to that found in 16-26 year olds, indicating that the vaccine should have similar effectiveness when used in the 9-15 year age group.”

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm096052.htm


27 posted on 09/17/2011 8:10:54 AM PDT by Til I am the last man standing (It's the internet Senators; We can see what you are doing!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: icanhasbailout

I’ve not time for folks that are constantly reading agenda’s into every post that disagrees with theirs. It shows a lack of creativity and a base weakness in your own argument. And it is soooooooo boring to boot.

The EO was a bad decision. Period. MB’s attack was over the top and not in proportion. Period. Only folks whose agenda is to push MB for the nomination or to defeat Perry for the nomination would have a problem with that synopsis. Perry has been an executive for ten years. Only Romney and to some extent, Cain, have anywhere near that kind of executive record - meaning that those with executive experience are going to have more decisions in their past and thus, more mistakes in their past than those with zERO executive experience.

If we are not mature enough to look at the totality of a ten year record, then we are in deep trouble. Perry has an over all good record on parental rights and a checkered record on cronyism.

He uses state government a bit too agressively, but he has been consistent on rolling back the Fed’s power for a long time. Running for President, I am more interested in his long term view of the Fed Govt’ than necessarily his micro managing of the governorship. All are fair game, but keep our eye on the ball here folks.


28 posted on 09/17/2011 8:13:36 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Askwhy5times
No matter how well intentioned his actions were, this is still The United States of America where everyone is free to make those decisions, right or wrong, for themselves. His "order" smacks of dictatorship - and I'll eat as many french fries as I damn well please, moochelle 0bama!

FUBO GTFO! 491 Days until Noon Jan 20, 2013

29 posted on 09/17/2011 8:15:54 AM PDT by The Sons of Liberty (Psalm 109:8 Let his days be few and let another take his office. - Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RowdyFFC

“As for the Texas Dream Act, WE TEXANS sponsored that bill and had it passed into law because it was the right thing to do for these children raised in Texas.”

We have lost California because of illegal immigration, why do things to lose Texas too? These programs just act like a magnet for more lawbreakers.


30 posted on 09/17/2011 8:15:54 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (Why does so few (IA, NH, SC) decide so much?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: GBA

And what’s interesting is that her supporters are EXACTLY the same way. No one is really defending the EO on the vaccine. No one is saying Perry is not without problems. We all get the crony angle and the heavy hand of government angle. Almost everyone is saying that MB is someone they like and right on most issues.

And yet, like MB, her rabid supporters (or those rabid anti Perrys) won’t shut up. They will not shut up until we all admit MB should be President for life and that Perry should be executed for his EO on guardisil. Blah blah blah blah.


31 posted on 09/17/2011 8:19:13 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Askwhy5times

And one more for the road:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/feb/21/20070221-123326-7587r/


32 posted on 09/17/2011 8:20:40 AM PDT by Til I am the last man standing (It's the internet Senators; We can see what you are doing!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hoodat
Diseases like HPV, HIV, and hepatitis are behaviorally obtained. The only way you are going to get them is by choice of actions.

Although those diseaes are "behaviorally obtained," it's not necessarily true that everyone who gets them has done so through improper behavior. For example, a young woman who's a virgin marries a man who isn't, the man having acqired HPV from another woman, and that man gives the HPV to his innocent bride. The bride would have been a lot better off with the vaccination than without it.

33 posted on 09/17/2011 8:20:47 AM PDT by libstripper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: bioqubit
What sort of "biologist?" PhD? Research? Immunology?

Clearly your claims are at variance with what the CDC says on its website.

Have you read the VAERS report? Coincidence is not the same as causality, whether you are discussing man made global climate change, or vaccine side effects.
VAERS data cannot be used to prove a causal association between the vaccine and the adverse event. The only association between the adverse event and vaccination is temporal, meaning that the adverse event occurred sometime after vaccination. Therefore, the adverse event may be coincidental or it may have been caused by vaccination, however we cannot make any conclusions that the events reported to VAERS were caused by the vaccine.
35 million doses have been distributed with only 68 deaths have been reported in those who have received the vaccine (32 confirmed) and the epidemiology shows NO statistical correlation that would imply causality.
In the 32 reports confirmed, there was no unusual pattern or clustering to the deaths that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine and some reports indicated a cause of death unrelated to vaccination.

34 posted on 09/17/2011 8:22:24 AM PDT by Sudetenland (There can be no freedom without God--What man gives, man can take away.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek
and bi national health insurance.

Since health insurance is sold by private companies, and as conservatives, we should be in favor of private enterprise, what exactly is your problem with bi-national health insurance? I thought we were trying to allow insurance companies to sell insurance across state lines - why is this any different?

Or are you trying to falsely imply that Perry wanted the state of Texas to pay for insurance for people in Mexico? That would be very dishonest of you.

35 posted on 09/17/2011 8:29:16 AM PDT by CA Conservative (Texan by birth, Californian by circumstance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: icanhasbailout
If it’s such a good idea, why couldn’t it be voluntary?

Consider the demographics in Texas. Hispanics are a majority. They have very high rates of teen prenancy and poverty. Gardasil is $360 for a series of three shots. Making it mandatory provides access that would not otherwise be available to a majority in Texas.

Perry's EO was the wrong way to address the situation, but that doesn't change the need for the vaccine in Texas. Gardasil has the potential to save Texas taxpayers money in the long run by preventing expensive cancer treatments.

36 posted on 09/17/2011 8:29:27 AM PDT by BuckeyeTexan (Man is not free unless government is limited. ~Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Sybeck1
Yes, but the Dream Act more.

You keep wanting to lay the Dream Act solely at Perry' feet, but you neglect to mention that it was passed by the Texas Legislature twice with veto-proof margins, the first time just a few months after Perry took office.

37 posted on 09/17/2011 8:32:02 AM PDT by CA Conservative (Texan by birth, Californian by circumstance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: libstripper
Although those diseaes are "behaviorally obtained," it's not necessarily true that everyone who gets them has done so through improper behavior. For example, a young woman who's a virgin marries a man who isn't, the man having acqired HPV from another woman, and that man gives the HPV to his innocent bride. The bride would have been a lot better off with the vaccination than without it.

Exactly right

38 posted on 09/17/2011 8:33:09 AM PDT by Rex Anderson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: CA Conservative
Nice job little pastsy boy.

We allocated an additional $4 billion to the Medicaid program, and more than $900 million to the Children’s Health Insurance Program. I urged legislators to pass a telemedicine pilot program that will enable, through technology, a sick border resident of limited financial means to receive care from a specialist hundreds of miles away. But the effort to combat disease and illness requires greater cooperative efforts between our two nations. It is a simple truth that disease knows no boundaries. An outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis, for example, endangers citizens of both our nations.

Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance. This study recognizes that the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border compose one region, and we must address health care problems throughout that region. That’s why I am also excited that Texas Secretary of State Henry Cuellar is working on an initiative that could extend the benefits of telemedicine to individuals living on the Mexican side of the border.

As a compassionate state, we know that for our children to succeed, they must not only be healthy, but educated. The future leaders of our two nations are learning their fractions and their ABC’s in classrooms all along this border. Immigrants from around the world are being taught in Texas classrooms, and our history is rich with examples of new citizens who have made great contributions. We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, “we don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.” And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate. Those young minds are a part of a new generation of leaders, the doors of higher education must be open to them. The message is simple: educacion es el futuro, y si se puede.


Gov. Rick Perry's Remarks to the Border Summit
39 posted on 09/17/2011 8:34:08 AM PDT by cripplecreek (A vote for Amnesty is a vote for a Permenant Democrat majority. ..Choose well.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: thackney
"disproportional reporting" of syncope (8.2 per 100,000 doses) and blood clots (0.2 per 100,000), compared with that seen with administration of other vaccines.

True, but an incomplete statement. Most of the women who had problems with blood clots had other risk factors, the key one being that they were on oral birth control when they got the shots. I think that was probably another factor in recommending that girls get the shot BEFORE they become sexually active.

40 posted on 09/17/2011 8:37:49 AM PDT by CA Conservative (Texan by birth, Californian by circumstance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-192 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson