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.
Feb. 02, 2007
Gov. Perry Establishes HPV Vaccination Program for Young Women
Vaccine will save lives of Texas women by preventing cervical cancer caused by HPV
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued an executive order directing the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to adopt rules requiring all girls age 11 and 12 to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prior to entering sixth grade, effective September 2008. The executive order also directs HHSC and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to make the vaccine immediately available to eligible young females through the Texas Vaccines for Children program for young women ages 9 to 18, and through Medicaid for women ages 19 to 21.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” said Perry. “Requiring young girls to get vaccinated before they come into contact with HPV is responsible health and fiscal policy that has the potential to significantly reduce cases of cervical cancer and mitigate future medical costs.”
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Today, approximately 20 million people in the nation are infected, including one in four 15 to 24 year olds. Certain strains of HPV cause most cases of cervical cancer. Texas has the second highest number of women suffering from this devastating disease in the nation. In 2006, there were 1,169 new cases and nearly 400 deaths from cervical cancer in the state.
Parents may choose to opt out of mandatory vaccinations for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs. The governor’s executive order directs DSHS to ease the opt out process by providing exemption request forms online.
Executive Order RP65 - February 2, 2007
Relating to the immunization of young women from the cancer-causing Human Papillomavirus.BY THE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF TEXAS
Executive Department
Austin, Texas
February 2, 2007WHEREAS, immunization from vaccine-preventable diseases such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV) protects individuals who receive the vaccine; and
WHEREAS, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection-causing cancer in females in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration estimates there are 9,710 new cases of cervical cancer, many of which are caused by HPV, and 3,700 deaths from cervical cancer each year in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Cancer Registry estimates there were 1,169 new cases and 391 deaths from cervical cancer in Texas in 2006; and
WHEREAS, research has shown that the HPV vaccine is highly effective in preventing the infections that are the cause of many of the cervical cancers; and
WHEREAS, HPV vaccine is only effective if administered before infection occurs; and
WHEREAS, the newly approved HPV vaccine is a great advance in the protection of women's health; and
WHEREAS, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the HPV vaccine for females who are nine years through 26 years of age;
NOW THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas as the Chief Executive Officer, do hereby order the following:
Vaccine. The Department of State Health Services shall make the HPV vaccine available through the Texas Vaccines for Children program for eligible young females up to age 18, and the Health and Human Services Commission shall make the vaccine available to Medicaid-eligible young females from age 19 to 21.
Rules. The Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner shall adopt rules that mandate the age appropriate vaccination of all female children for HPV prior to admission to the sixth grade.
Availability. The Department of State Health Services and the Health and Human Services Commission will move expeditiously to make the vaccine available as soon as possible.
Public Information. The Department of State Health Services will implement a public awareness campaign to educate the public of the importance of vaccination, the availability of the vaccine, and the subsequent requirements under the rules that will be adopted.
Parents' Rights. The Department of State Health Services will, in order to protect the right of parents to be the final authority on their children's health care, modify the current process in order to allow parents to submit a request for a conscientious objection affidavit form via the Internet while maintaining privacy safeguards under current law.
This executive order supersedes all previous orders on this matter that are in conflict or inconsistent with its terms and this order shall remain in effect and in full force until modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by me or by a succeeding governor.
Given under my hand this the 2nd day of February, 2007.
RICK PERRY(Signature)
Governor
Attested by:
ROGER WILLIAMS(Signature)
Secretary of State
Dear Gov Perry,
Raise the taxes for this so you get a big old chunk of change like the 2 billion you stole from the TXDOT budget, and now want to make my street a toll road.
Look up RINO, that is your picture.
You make Mark White look smart.
idiot.
If the petting is truly that "heavy" on the regions that are prone to spreading genital warts, it's an act of sexual promiscuity. On the same token you could also get AIDS though from coming into contact with certain bodily fluids including cases that do not technically count as "sex" in the Age of Clinton where everything depends on what the definition of "is" is.
The point is that both HPV and HIV are STDs, and spread either by actual intercourse or something coming very close to it.
Is the feminist position that this should be mandatory for all girls? If so, can we expect to hear the calls of "keep the government out of our bodies!" in regards to abortion to stop?
I bet you're wrong.
You wouldn't care two hoots if this was a vaccine for a non-sexually transmitted disease.
Let's just say it's a vaccine against breast cancer. Still pissed off?
Your moral view is clouding your judgment. Be protected against everything you can. Period.
I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. If you have some evidence that this order was outside his authority, let's discuss it.
So in other words, you basically have to fill out a legal affadavit REQUESTING exemption from this thing if you don't want your kid to be injected.
That's not "opting out." Opting out is sending little Suzie to school with a note from the doctor saying she didn't get the STD shot when she went in for a measles booster. The way Perry worded it you have to ask the government's PERMISSION to opt out by legal affadavit and register your kid in a state database of the non-vaccinated for STDs.
I am sure doing this through EO was designed for health emergency situations. and this is certainly not that.
Well said. Let us make our own informed decision.
Yeah, cause non STDs can be caught by simply being coughed on by the wrong person. Tell me - has anybody ever given you genital warts by coughing on you?
Let's just say it's a vaccine against breast cancer. Still pissed off?
Breast cancer is caused by non-viral cancerous mutations. You can't vaccinate against that.
Okay, you're governor. You know what the rate of sexual promiscuity is in your state. You know the costs to your state to treat the consequences of cervical cancer.
You know what the cost of an effective vaccine is.
What is your decision as a fiscal conservative, while still allowing parents to opt out, knowing that the parents of most at risk surely won't opt out?
I agree totally. My teenage daughter asked me about it. I told her I'd rather she wait until it's been out for a couple years to see what side effects are documented. She's not sexually active; there's no reason to be a guinea pig here.
"WHEREAS, the Texas Cancer Registry estimates there were 1,169 new cases and 391 deaths from cervical cancer in Texas in 2006"
this is some kind of epidemic?
There's nothing mandatory about this. Read the definition of the word "mandatory."
Circumcision May Lower Risk of Both Acquiring and Transmitting HPV
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3421602b.html
read the definition of the word "request". "requests" can be accepted or denied, you won't know how this plan will work until you see whether the opt-out requests are granted without question.
I'm sure castration lowers it even further.
It is EXACTLY things like this that make me hope there never is a vaccine for AIDS. The infection risk from the vaccine is too high, whatever the number - because my infection risk is exactly 0% because I don't engage in the behavior that causes the infection. Neither does my wife, and if Mrs. WBill ever does, then AIDS infections will be the LEAST of my concerns. :-)
What's the cost to treat a cervical cancer patient? $250,000 at a minimum? I'd guess it's more.
You can either prevent it cheaply, or you can pay for it later. I guess you prefer the higher price tag.
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