Posted on 02/20/2007 8:36:39 PM PST by neverdem
Our pediatrician for ten years asked me about this last week - told him I wanted to study it some more. He recommended it.
He recommended it. = getting the vaccine.
All vaccines carry risk...
The small pox vaccine was thought to provide lifetime immunity..
It doesn't.
From what I have read, the longevity of this vaccine in unproven. Should it be available..of course. Should it be a state requirement to attend school..not so much.
Related Story:
AP
Merck Suspends Lobbying for Vaccine
Tuesday February 20, 11:32 pm ET
By Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer
Merck Suspends Lobbying for Mandate for Its Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Merck & Co., bowing to pressure from parents and medical groups, is immediately suspending its lobbying campaign to persuade state legislatures to mandate that adolescent girls get the company's new vaccine against cervical cancer as a requirement for school attendance.
The drug maker, which announced the change Tuesday, had been criticized for quietly funding the campaign, via a third party, to require 11- and 12-year-old girls get the three-dose vaccine in order to attend school.
Some had objected because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted disease, human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer. Vaccines mandated for school attendance usually are for diseases easily spread through casual contact, such as measles and mumps.
"Our goal is about cervical cancer prevention and we want to reach as many females as possible with Gardasil," Dr. Richard M. Haupt, Merck's medical director for vaccines, told The Associated Press.
"We're concerned that our role in supporting school requirements is a distraction from that goal, and as such have suspended our lobbying efforts," Haupt said, adding the company will continue providing information about the vaccine if requested by government officials.
Whitehouse Station-based Merck launched Gardasil, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, in June. It protects against the two virus strains that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and two strains that cause most genital warts.
Sales totaled $235 million through the end of 2006, according to Merck.
Last month, the AP reported that Merck was channeling money for its state-mandate campaign through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators across the country.
Conservative groups opposed the campaign, saying it would encourage premarital sex, and parents' rights groups said it interfered with their control over their children.
Even two of the prominent medical groups that supported broad use of the vaccine, the American Academy of Pediatricians and the American Academy of Family Practitioners, questioned Merck's timing, Haupt said Tuesday.
"They, along with some other folks in the public health community, believe there needs to be more time," he said, to ensure government funding for the vaccine for uninsured girls is in place and that families and government officials have enough information about it.
Legislatures in roughly 20 states have introduced measures that would mandate girls have the vaccine to attend school, but none has passed so far. However, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Feb. 2 issued an executive order requiring Texas girls entering the sixth grade as of 2008 get the vaccinations, triggering protests from lawmakers in that state.
Parents in Texas could opt out for their daughters if they state religious or philosophical objections, but several lawmakers there want parents to opt in instead of being able to opt out.
Perry defended his order Tuesday, a day after lawmakers in Austin held a lengthy hearing on the issue but failed to act on a bill to override the order.
Dr. Anne Francis, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee that advocates for better insurer reimbursement on vaccines, called Merck's change of heart "a good move for the public."
"I believe that their timing was a little bit premature," she said, "so soon after (Gardasil's) release, before we have a picture of whether there are going to be any untoward side effects."
Given that the country has been "burned" by some drugs whose serious side effects emerged only after they were in wide use, including Merck's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, Francis said, it would be better to wait awhile before mandating Gardasil usage.
She said she also was concerned about requiring a vaccine for a disease that is not communicable and so does not have a big public health impact. While doctors expect Gardasil to have a huge effect in poor countries where women do not get Pap smears, in this country those tests limit the incidence of cervical cancer to about 9,710 new cases and 3,700 deaths each year.
The National Vaccine Information Center has been publicizing reports of side effects -- mostly dizziness and fainting -- in several dozen people getting Gardasil, which is approved for use in females ages 9 to 26. The center, a group of parents worried that vaccines harm some children, questions whether the vaccine was tested in enough young girls.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, say that reports of side effects through the end of January don't raise any red flags.
The vaccine also is controversial because of its price -- $360 for the three doses required over a six-month stretch. Because of that cost and what pediatricians and gynecologists say is inadequate reimbursement by insurers, many are choosing not to stock the vaccine or requiring surcharges to administer it, increasing the cost for many families and making the vaccine hard to come by.
Merck shares were down in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange, falling 35 cents to $44.15 after rising 22 cents in regular trading to close at $44.50.
There also seems to be some controversy over the rotavirus vaccine for infants also manufactured by Merck.
Being that the vaccine only protects against 4 of the 16 viruses,
one would still have to ask their sex partner if they
had any 12 of the 16 viruses before they were safe.
The participants would have to be asking questions whether
someone was vaccinated or not. The way the vaccine protects
one is if that person agrees to sex or is forced into sex
with someone who has the PPV virus. It is a false security
if one person has 12 of the 16 viruses. Not a very competent
drug.
If anyone who has the virus and doesn't tell their partner they had it,
and passed it on, that person should be incarcerated or
even executed. Those measures would certainly cut the risk
of the infection spreading. No?
Best advice, avoidance. 2nd best, carry a gun if avoidance
impossible. 3rd best, make sure your partner doesn't have
any of the 16 viruses, 4th best...vaccine just in case
your partner is a 1)liar 2)jerk 3)poor memory...
Yes they do.
What happens when it is your little girl who is the one in a million that has a violent reaction to the vaccine and is disabled for the rest of her life?
Did she do it for the good of all the other 13 year olds that can’t keep there pants on?
This vaccine has no place in a high school.
Any 18 old women that is going to become sexually active should go get the shot.
The Doctor should be saying to the adult "Do you want the pill? Do you want the vaccine?"
Little too much unknown to make it mandatory.
Full agreement.
False security...
It doesn't.
That might be alarming if the vaccine hadn't eradicated smallpox..
He doesn't believe in checks and balances. Someone on the Ed Hendi show referred to him an "Longshanks", LOL.
Insurance companies won't pay for it unless it's a state requirement !
A large part of the reason for this is financial. It's similar to the case when smoke detectors were invented and the manufacturers encouraged the passage of laws to require them. The lobbyists could make an argument that they were merely trying to save lives.
Ancient foodies liked it hot I'll grant that it's probably an acquired taste, but I love them.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
Good strategy, that one. I've heard it also protects against herpes, AIDS, and chlamydia transmitted by the potential rapist. The winner (victim) is also warned to avoid contact with certain bodily goo that might contaminate the scene. The rapist's blood, organ tissue, and brain matter might carry bloodborne pathogens. Allow the forensics staff clean up the mess. They are trained professionals.
You have a funny idea of when women become sexually active.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.