Texas Girls Will Get HPV Vaccine

News Observer ^ | 02/03/07 | Liz Austin Peterson

[Froufrou]

Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

By using an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents-rights groups who fear such a requirement would seem to condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.

Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade -- meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 -- will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.

Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion 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 from the one that protects children against polio.

"The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer," Perry said.

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil 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.

Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's 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.

The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.

Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing affidavits objecting to vaccines on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents' rights to make medical decisions for their children.

[Caesar Soze]

Why isn't it approved for women over 26? It seems like women over 26 are much more sexually active than a 9 year old.

Because it was only tested on females aged 9 through 26. The FDA didn't approve it for older women because it hasn't been tested on older women. This seems rather conservative to me, but it makes sense. You don't approve a drug for a patient that it hasn't been tested on.

Why did Merck choose 26 as the cutoff age for their study? I don't know. Maybe they did some complex statistical stimulations of exposure to HPV, or maybe they just drew the number out of a hat. But it's the number they went with, so it's the upper limit we're stuck with -- until and unless more tests are done on older women.

Safety reasons aside, it is better to administer the vaccine to younger females just to cut down on the adverse reactions. In some cases, Gardasil was reported to cause painful periods. Administering it to prepubescents pretty much nullifies that risk. It also provides a convenient dodge for any parents who don't want to tell their kids about all the sex they can have in high school. ("This shot protects you against a certain kind of cancer. You can't get this cancer until you're much older, but the shot can mess up your periods, so we're giving it to you now.")

[perseid 67]

This vaccine should only be tested on women who are 18. The women who voluntarily submit to this test should be paid for their contribution to science. Doing anything less would be unethical.

Perry should be shamed for selling foster children and orphans to scummy Merck so scummy Merck will have a large population of virginal guinea pigs.

[linda_22003]

Me too. Sounds awfully low.

[luckystarmom]

I realized that I think you are correct on that number. However, I would like to look at the virginity stats of girls raised in Christian homes with 2 parents. Or how about the stats of virgins at a Christian college?

I understand that there are a lot of sleazy girls, but it doesn't mean that my girls will be in that group.

I knew lots of women that waited until their 20s to have sex the first time. In fact, most of my friends waited until their 20s. Only a few were younger than that. Of course, we were all educated college women going to a conservative college (Texas A&M).

However, that is till pretty much my point. Is that I think I am going to know my daughters better than a politician, and it should be up to me to decide for her until she is 18. At 18, she can decide for herself.

[MeanWestTexan]

Go uplink.

80% were/are infected. Is there another, non-sexual, means of transmission? I have no idea.

Certainly it got into the population the first time in a non-sexual means, just like AIDS did. Is that vector still around? Good question.

That said, if there is still a non-sexual vector, that is all the more reason to vaccinate broadly.

[Froufrou]

"There are roughly 168,000 fifth grade girls in Texas, the vaccine is three shots, totalling $360. That's more than $60 million.

For now, Merck is the only drug-maker with the vaccine, but Rival Glaxo-Smith-Cline is also developing its own vaccine and could seek approval this year." Found this when I googled "Perry's vaccine."

[Caesar Soze]

There are too many things not known. How long does it last?

At least five years.

Are boosters needed?

The trials found "extremely strong" immune memory, suggesting no.

Pelvic inflammatory disease as a side effect may be as bad as cervical cancer.

I wouldn't know. PID was only reported in 0.02% of Gardasil recipients, vice 0.01% of the placebo group. Being informed of that risk, patients can probably catch PID early and treat it. It's much easier to treat than cervical cancer, is it not?

[DalcoTX]

You would?

I would venture to say that at least 85% of college aged women have been or currently are sexually active. Although the statistic given to you was wrong. 80% of women, in their lifetime, will be exposed to HPV.

[MamaTexan]

Um, most of your references lead to PubMed which is inaccesable without subscribing.

I did Google one interesting fact from this one: The Tango and Tangle of Human Papillomavirus and the Human Genome.

(Toward the end of the article) The "tangle" is trying to figure out what these factors might be and how the relationships among virus variation, host variation, and persistence lead to cancer. Long-term follow-up of vaccinated individuals should reveal whether the virus is eliminated

They don't know for sure, they're still studying it.

-----

Many people don't consider seat belts, fluoridated toothpaste, or the Second Amendment necessary -- sometimes the government has to override those opinions.

Equating seat-belts and toothpaste to the second amendment is asinine.

The second amendment is a right, and not subject to the 'opinion' of ANY political office holder.

-----

and genital warts may soon become part of the schedule of vaccinations for preteen girls

There's that word again....MAY

The CDC had had a meeting, but has no public recommendation to date.

-----

Here are a few accessible articles:

Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Infections
The 2-year absolute risk for cervical precancer attributable to infection by human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), the most common and oncogenic HPV type, in the millions of women diagnosed annually with equivocal or mildly abnormal cytologyhas not been definitively evaluated.

Human Papillomavirus Types 16, 18, 31, 33, and 45 in the Majority of Cervical Carcinomas
However, although the oncogenic potential of E6 and E7 is well established and the expression of E6 and E7 has been found to be necessary for conversion to malignancy (19, 31, 52), few studies have so far been performed to verify the actual presence of these transcripts in clinical cervical carcinoma samples. Such a study would provide valuable information, as the detection of the E6 and E7 transcripts of high-risk HPV types could serve as a better risk evaluation factor than DNA detection for the development of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and the progression to cervical carcinoma (25, 28, 29, 41).

(Emphasis mine)

-----

The bottom line is that a vaccination should be given based on the wishes of the parents and established, acknowledged medical facts, not the mandates of government.

They are NOT the government's children.

[MeanWestTexan]

And when doing the numbers, remember MOST kids are insured, which is the REAL reason behind the "requirement" --- the model form health insurance policy in Texas makes the insurance carrier pay for "required" vaccines --- which this is, now.

Of course, the $360 number is the cash number before whatever discounts the insurance carriers work out with Merck, which will probably bring it down to $3.60/kid.

[luckystarmom]

I wish I would have known more about STDs when I was younger.

My parents really didn't tell me anything about sex. I did not know anything about STDs until I was in my 20s and all of the aids stuff came out.

I've already started educating my 12 year old son about STDs. He already knows a lot more about sex than I did until I was much older.

I have 10 year old daughters, and I think it's great that there is a vaccine for HPV. I just don't know that I am willing to take the risks for it right now. When they are 16, and the vaccine has been around for 6 years without major side effects then I may feel differently.

[najida]

A population of virgin guinea pigs in the foster child population?

Oy vey, the longer this thread goes, the weirder it gets.

[najida]

OK, are you saying that 80% of the collge age females have HPV? If that's so, then that changes everything about attitude.

[Froufrou]

http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm#hpvvac1

This is the CDC link Mama provided. Looking again, I see that the 3 shots are given over a 6-month period. Seems it must be strong to need that amount of time to administer.


Foster children, as wards of the state, are mandated by the state to provide immunizations just like welfare moms. They can get very angry when you take 'their' money for noncompliance.

I know the punishment in the welfare system is $25 per child taken from the mother's welfare grant. I don't know what the punishment is for foster parents. It could be that Child Protective Services provides the vaccine.

I think PID is a chronic illness, but I could be wrong.

[najida]

Look,
right how,
an 8 year old who's still a virgin and a ward of the state is like snow in Tahiti. Bad week, but this is just pissing me off.

Sorry honestly, raise sweet pure virgins if you can, but for the rest of the throw away girls, lets try and save a few.

[perseid 67]

Yes, that is the gist of this crap.

Merk wants to test a vaccine on women before they are sexually active(IE Virgins).

They figured (wrongly) that the number virgins older than 17 was to small for them to produce meaningful test results.

Solution: Go to Texas and buy a governor. Then they will be able to forcibly test their damn vaccine on prepubescent virgins.

This is Sodom and Gomorrah stuff.

[perseid 67]

Yes, that is the gist of this crap.

Merk wants to test a vaccine on women before they are sexually active(IE Virgins).

They figured (wrongly) that the number virgins older than 17 was to small for them to produce meaningful test results.

Solution: Go to Texas and buy a governor. Then they will be able to forcibly test their damn vaccine on prepubescent virgins.

This is Sodom and Gomorrah stuff.

[najida]

You're an idiot.

The girls at the highest risk and most danger those in the foster system! There are weeks when we have 16 admits under 12 and all of them infected with something. The whole reason they are IN the system is the crap that's been happening to them.

Geez louise.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

OH, so as long as someone else pays for it, it's OK? Yea that's a conservative point of view. I mean if insurance or the state pays it's free because they have their own income free of us.

This proves my point about you.

As to understanding business, I understand THIS business. Perry gets 40% and is term limited, he's finished in Texas. His former Chief of Staff works for a company that will make millions, no billions on this drug and 3 states have already refused to mandate it. Soooo lets get the Gov, with no input, to mandate it and people like you to support it.

Oh but if we save even one it's worth it! Crap! Let's mandate birth control and solve abortion and unwanted pregnancy. Outlaw smoking (I don't and never did) and drinking (about 6 a month for me). Lets make all kids report for weigh in and fine the fat ones. What about bubonic plague shots? The army gave me a couple and if it's good enough for the army it's good enough for your daughters. How about malaria pills, that kills millions a year, or anthrax shots? We all know the terrorist use anthrax, why won't you and the Governor and my insurance step up and protect me?

Yea y'all decide what is good for me and get someone to pay for it and tell me your a conservative. Saying it doesn't make you one anymore than standing in my garage makes you a car.

[perseid 67]

If Merk did not think girls in Texas were "pure" enough they would have gone someplace else.