Posted on 02/06/2007 8:45:52 AM PST by Froufrou
Gov. Rick Perry stood firm Monday against a political firestorm ignited by his order that sixth-grade girls be inoculated against a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer.
Social conservatives from Austin to Washington joined some state lawmakers in calling for Perry to reverse his executive order making Texas the first state to mandate the human papillomavirus vaccine for girls entering sixth grade in September 2008.
Several legislators expressed outrage that Perry circumvented the legislative process. Several bills had been filed to make the HPV shots mandatory for school enrollment.
"This needs closer examination. How much will it cost the state?" Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said at a news conference.
"Most importantly, as a mother of four daughters I want to make sure our daughters' health is protected and parental rights are preserved."
Another senator, Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, said he'd file legislation to reverse Perry's order, which he said was not in the best interest of the state.
Parents will be able to opt their 11- and 12-year-old daughters out of the program, as they can for other required vaccines.
As speculation swirled about why Perry risked angering his conservative base, political observers said the governor is showing newfound independence and may be trying to raise his national profile as a potential vice presidential candidate.
The governor's spokesman also indicated that first lady Anita Perry's strong support for the vaccine might have played a role in the decision. A former nurse and the daughter of a doctor, Anita Perry works for an organization dealing with sexual assaults.
"I know they have discussed it, and it's something they both feel very strongly about," the spokesman, Robert Black, said.
In a statement, Perry addressed criticism that the vaccine could send a message that teenage sex is permissible.
"Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than providing the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use," he said.
"If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it claiming it would encourage smoking?"
Perry's office said it would cost the state $29 million for its share of inoculating students who are uninsured or on government health programs. Federal funds also will be available for children on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Federal health authorities last year recommended girls and young women get the vaccine, which prevents infection by four common strains of the HPV virus, which can cause cervical cancer years after infection.
Cervical cancer accounts for 3,700 deaths a year in the United States, including nearly 400 in Texas.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, said he supports the vaccine but noted that other state legislatures have decided not to make it mandatory.
"What kind of deal was made?" asked Keffer, referring to comments by Cathie Adams, president of Texas Eagle Forum, that Perry's political ties with drug company Merck may have influenced the decision.
Perry's office has denied he was influenced by anything other than health concerns. His ex-chief of staff, Mike Toomey, is a lobbyist for Merck and Perry got $6,000 in contributions from the drug manufacturer's political action committee.
Black said Perry and Toomey never discussed the issue, and noted the Merck campaign contributions were relatively small.
"The governor is very pro-life, and he views this as protecting life," Black said. "The human race has never had an opportunity to prevent cancer. Not to pursue that opportunity, the governor believes that would be morally reprehensible."
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick both said Perry did not consult them. Craddick said he didn't have a position on the issue. Dewhurst said he would prefer a voluntary vaccination program.
GOP consultant Royal Masset said he thinks Perry wants to be considered as a national leader. Perry talked about international terrorism and immigration reform in his inaugural address.
"Health care is one of the most powerful issues we're going to be dealing with nationally," Masset said.
Meanwhile, a Christian group knocked the Texas governor in a Washington update mailed to supporters Monday.
Tony Perkins with Family Research Council said, "By commandeering this issue, Gov. Perry, who has championed family values, has only succeeded in arousing more mistrust."
I agree with your entire post. In the event of a true epidemic, the Governor has the ability to declare a State emergency....then if necessary mandate treatment for the outbreak.
The problem is the 80% infection rate gets openly touted while the actual cancer/death from cancer rate gets hidden in the fine print.
I would not call 3,700 deaths out of 143 million women an 'epidemic' by ANY stretch of the imagination.
What? Of course it is! detecting pre cancerous cellular changes is what early detection is all about! Then treatment can be done that isn't as evasive as treating full blown cancer.
That's the importance of a regular pap smear, a mammogram. finding a lump after it has spread into the lymph nodes is too late, finding an irregularity before it turns into a lump you can feel or see it means you don't need to cut your breast off, go through drastic chemotherapy, or have a hystorectomy. Odds are, with early detection, you will still be able to have children, and not loose any parts.
The wonder drug, and all this misleading information about it, will cause women to skip this simple but vital regular test, that could save a lot of grief, and possibly their lives by initiating early treatment that prevents the cancer from developing in the first place.
I never claimed a pap smear was a treatment, it's merely a test, as a mamogram is an exray that can spot a problem long before you FEEL a problem.
Worth repeating. Perry is an idiot.
Not just because of this; I don't know that much about it, but everytime I read about something he has done, I say those words, Perry is an idiot.
And I guess that makes me one, too. I voted for him.
Other than warts, what does it cause? Embarrassment cuz you got warts? A label because you got an STD?
Heavens, it might even cause abstinence from sexual activity!
Turns out Perry's prior chief of staff is paid $250K a year to lobby for Merck and the wife of the current COS is involved with Merck.
So far there has been 89 adverse reactions to this vaccine -- since June 2006. The odds of getting this cancer is very small compared to the odds of having an adverse health problem from the vaccination. People need to wake up to the facts about vaccines -- they are not benign and once administered they are in there and cannot be taken back.
It doesn't add or subtract from my opinions on this subject, but Perry strikes me as being like one of those inbred later Caesars - strutting, foolish, vainglorious, and incompetent.
Texas would be glad to rediscover its true conservatism, I think. Its financial straits are creating opportunity for so many pretenders and snake-oil salesmen.
Yes they can and they should, but how many will know this since it's something the state has kept quiet about. Few people understand they can opt out, but this is a bigger issue. The Pharms are too influencial and are ruining our pets and children's health with a plethera of vaccinations.
I thought the wife was with Women In Government...? Someone else said a VA governor received $6K from Merck but rejected the vaccine...and another two states rejected it before King Rick gave the okay.
No more Pap smears?
The new HPV vaccine may relegate cervical swipes to the trash bin.
John Gibson just did a segment on this and the facts were flying fast... we need to look for the transcript since there was quite a bit revealed about who is in what pocket on this vaccine and relation to Gov. Perry and his staff.
I guess he's on from 6-9? No transcript until after that?
True, you can get the initial form from the nurse, but you still have to:
Please mail or fax this request to:
Mail Code: 1946
Department of State Health Services
Immunization Branch
1100 West 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756
Then have it come back, then have it notarized, yada, yada. You can't JUST 'check a box' as you have repeatedly claimed.
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I also learned that, until 2003, the requests were supposed to be permanent.
Yes, that is true.
As most other vaccinations occur before the child even enters school, vaccinations are rarely given at the school, they get them at the doctor's office.
If the school does give them, the child/student MUST have a consent form signed by a parent or guardian. So says the Education Code.
From what I understand, that's the place where these will be available....at the school.
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LOL. OK, my kids call me old.
That's okay, mine do, too!
;-)
One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff (who Merck pays $250K a year). 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.
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.
But seriously ... intellectual property holders! There have been a lot of straw men set up in this debate, but that one is the strawiest.
See post 203. Some clever little bunny made a list for you.
If this vaccine was such a great product , it would stand on its own legs.
We are discussing the matter of forcing a person to undergo mandatory drug therapy (vaccination), when they have no disease, under the presumption that they might get a disease based on future poor behavior.
Not one person has thought to mention this is medically unethical.
Public policy towards mandatory vaccinations for infectious diseases like as mumps, measles and rubella are based on the idea of herd immunity --that is, if 97 percent to 98 percent of a population is immunized against a disease, the disease may be nearly eradicated.
In this case (the HPV vaccine) this doesn't hold water since this is an incomplete vaccine. Men make up half of those infected with HPV. Thus, herd immunity will never develop.
It was the Merck Co. that produced the COX-2 inhibitors as an alternative to aspirin-type drugs (non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) under the idea that these COX-2 inhibitors would have fewer side effects. Merck duly sponsored clinical trials, which did show that COX-2 inhibitors were superior to NSAIDs in terms of reducing side effects -- or so we thought.
This wasn't really true, as we know that COX-2 inhibitors actually increase the risk of heart attacks. Studies showing this increased risk of heart attack were suppressed from the medical journals prior to FDA approval for the drug.
The Merck vaccine cost $120 a dose, and three are needed, for a total cost of $360 a child. Multiply this times every school-age child in the country. This means billions.
Questions remain. As the vaccine may not be effective in the long term, will booster shots at $120 be required?
What type of world is it when a large company basically can forcibly take money from our pockets? Why are some legislators "really" pushing this vaccine? How many others are being paid to push this as people surrounding Gov.Perry has around him?
Texas Republicans ask Gov. Perry to rescind vaccine mandate
From the article:
Lawmakers should have been allowed to hear from doctors, scientists and patients before the state implemented such a sweeping mandate, said state Sen. Jane Nelson, chairwoman of the health and human services committee.
"This is not an emergency," said Nelson, adding that she plans to ask Attorney General Greg Abbott for an opinion on the legality of Perry's order. "It needs to be discussed and debated."
Planning a visit to a another country? Plan on having casual sex with a foreigner? Then get gardisol.
http://www.globextravelvaccine.com/faqs.html At Globex Travel Health we have a "know before you go" policy. We want you to be prepared especially when it comes to your health and travel. This section of frequently asked questions is our "know before you come" section. Read the questions and answers to get an idea of what you may need to plan or how you may need to prepare prior to your travel health visit.
Gardisol- to protect women ages 9-24 against cervical cancer caused by the HPV virus.
No, it's not being advertized to give women a false sense of security. Yeah right.
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