.The Gardasil [cervical cancer] vaccine was recommended the FDAs vaccine approval committee, more than 6 months before Governor Perrys Executive Order. All girls who qualified for the Federal Vaccines for Children program were eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge: Medicaid, CHIPs, and uninsured or those with insurance that wont pay for vaccines. The Texas Legislature had previously delegated unconditional authority to mandate new vaccines to the Department of State Health Services, which is under Governor Perry and the Executive Branch. Source
Gov. Perry's E.O. [opt out] also made all required vaccines easier to opt out of. The Legislature moved to kill the E.O. and Gov. Perry made no objection. No one was given the vaccine from the E.O.
Recently: Routine HPV vaccine recommended for boys - The panel that advises the CDC on vaccines recommends that the shot be given to boys ages 11 and 12 in addition to girls, noting that the virus is linked to many other cancers besides cervical.
However, as of 2010, only about a third of U.S. girls had received the three-dose vaccine, and the rates are plateauing, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Another potential barrier to routine use is money. The three-shot series costs at least $300.
"Year after year we continue to have evidence of low uptake in girls," said Dr. Jane Kim, an assistant professor of health decision science at Harvard School of Public Health who has studied the cost-effectiveness of the HPV vaccine. "When we're at such low coverage for girls, it is of value to vaccinate boys."
It's not clear how well parents will embrace vaccination of their adolescent sons. Those who are dubious should know that vaccination against HPV may help prevent other types of cancers, such as those of the penis, head, neck and mouth, said Dr. Jessica Kahn, associate professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and chair of the vaccinations committee for the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, which supported the recommendation.
Rates of oral cancers are rising, and HPV infection is now thought to account for more cases of oral cancer than tobacco use, Kahn said.
And, she added, the vaccine is just as safe and effective in boys as in girls.
The key to acceptance, Kahn added, will be in making sure that parents understand the range of diseases that HPV can cause in their sons. The role of HPV in cervical cancer is broadly known, she said. "But we fall short in explaining what HPV can cause in boys and men."
It seemed that various missives from the TX bureaucracy couldn’t even agree on what parents’ rights were on Gardasil until Austin shot it down.
Washington needs better coordination than that. Imagine this happening at a Federal level. Imagine the confusion.
Btw if they don’t have the hpv virus I don’t see any reason not to give the vaccine to adults.
Once more, thanks and congrats for your patience in thoroughly refuting all the false claims propogated about Rick Perry by people who don’t like him and who feel it necessary (for some reason) to get on Perry threads and say so.
But I think everyone learns something from your posts. I know I do.
Except those who refuse to listen or learn.