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.
Aw, c'mon, for chrissakes. That's boloney. Asking for vaccinating young girls/women against a nasty sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer with 95% certainty is *NOT* labeling anyone a slut. The protection will carry throughout their lives.
Oh..thanks. It's probably an "illegal" exemption :)
No...According to the order you only have to sign a legal affadavit with the state government requesting that they allow you to place your daughter in a "conscientious objector" database of the unvaccinated.
The way Perry worded it ya'd think he was dealing with future draft dodgers.
AIDS has a 100% death certainty. Like HPV, it is transmitted sexually - not through the air or through non-sexual bodily contact. If there was an AIDS vaccine out there would require everyone to take it?
Perry did this? OMG
True conservatism is dead. Dead as a doornail.
Rigid clinical studies to determine efficacy of a vaccination are inherently hamstrung by ethics. After all, you can't vaccinate, then deliberately introduce the HPV virus and wait to see what happens. (Oh, so sorry. Didn't work. Better luck next time.) Instead, you vaccinate, then have the study participants go about their business and get checked to see if they get cervical cancer.
I just had to go look.
http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2006_0608.html
The study group that proved the efficacy of this vaccine was females, ages 16-26, in four separate studies. Half the total group analyzed received placebo. Of the vaccinated group, none contracted cervical cancer after being followed 2-5 years. Of the 8,463 in the placebo group, 53 cases showed up. Less than half of one percent.
So we vaccinate all 11 years olds in the nation to prevent little more than half of one percent of them from getting cervical cancer. Do we know if the vaccine works similarily on a sexually imature female as it does on 16-26 yr olds?
While the "if-we-can-prevent-even-one" argument holds sway in emotional circles, it shouldn't in the scientific community. These are not compelling numbers, and they are far short of the efficacy level the FDA requires for most other drugs. Interestingly, the number of people who were getting the drug who dropped out due to "adverse events" is slightly higher than those who actually got cervical cancer in the placebo group. So the number is negligible when it's an adverse reaction, but a big whoopdedo when used to argue how good the stuff is.
I'm not a clinician, so I may be missing something here. But if this is all it takes to get the power of the government behind mandatory vaccination, then, whoa.
In both CA and GA, I have only had to turn in the form to my childrens' schools. It is kept on file and is only used if there is an epidemic, as I will be required to keep my children home.
Excellent. Sadly, it is a piece of logic that would be wasted on those who most need to hear it.
There are 4.5 million students in the Texas school system, 50% of them female. Of those females, it is reasonable to guess that 80% of them will never get HPV and upwards of 99% of them will never get cervical cancer from HPV.
The point is it is *not* required. And, we do actually *require* all kinds of other vaccines for kids to go to school. Having everyone vaccinated in childhood years against HIV would eliminate the disease, just like other highly lethal diseases we've eradicated. So yes, I'd require it if it was determined safe and effective like current set of vaccines. Smallpox was extremely virulent and deadly disease and is now erradicated through widespread mandatory vaccine use.
Perry's executive order is online here:
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/exorders/rp65
The last clause requires parents wishing to exempt their daughters to fill out a "conscientious objection affidavit" with the state government.
12 years old! I just don't get it. Most 12 year old girls I knew were not having sex when I was 12. There may have been one but that was it. So let's make everyone take the vaccine because of the one slut in the class.
I hope you just worded this badly and that you really don't think that cervical cancer is a 95% certainty among those with HPV.
Wonder if Perry et al think that too? Could explain a lot.
Yeah, and the *burden* to request an exemption is placed on the parents. Furthermore, that exemption may only be obtained by an onerous affadavit process through the state government that requires parents to register as "conscientious objectors."
And, we do actually *require* all kinds of other vaccines for kids to go to school.
...all of which can be transmitted by air or normal human interaction. STDs are different.
Having everyone vaccinated in childhood years against HIV would eliminate the disease
Having everyone abstain from sexual promiscuity, and discouraging the rampant HIV-spreading homosexual lifestyle in particular, would have the exact same effect with none of the research cost and none of the mandatory distribution schemes.
Smallpox was extremely virulent and deadly disease and is now erradicated through widespread mandatory vaccine use.
Smallpox was not transmitted by CHOICE of sexual intercourse with an unclean partner though.
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