States balk at cancer vaccine mandate

For a time, Georgia was poised to become the latest state to require preteen girls to be vaccinated against a virus that causes cervical cancer.

A powerful state Republican lawmaker proposed making the vaccine mandatory for girls entering sixth grade, and the governor included $4.3 million in his budget to make it available to some 13,000 girls whose family's insurance policies wouldn't cover it.

But state lawmakers nixed the plans after aggressive lobbying by religious conservatives, who argued that vaccinating young girls could promote promiscuity. The human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer is transmitted through sexual contact.

Similar proposals were introduced in 23 other states and the District of Columbia, but only Virginia has signed such a mandate into law.

Proposals in many states died or were watered down to only provide parents with educational materials instead of requiring the vaccine. In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order requiring vaccinations for sixth-grade girls, but the Legislature then passed a bill blocking the order.

Over the past several months, a vaccine that once was hailed as a breakthrough to prevent cancer deaths has become embroiled in some of the nation's most politically charged issues: teen sex, parental control, state mandates, a backlash against vaccines and a suspicion of drug companies.

"It encapsulates so many issues that are at the core of politics and health policy right now," said Alina Salganicoff, director of women's health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The vaccine Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2006. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices followed with a recommendation that all girls be vaccinated at age 11 or 12. The three-dose treatment costs $360.

Cervical cancer kills 10 women a day in the U.S. and one in four U.S. women ages 14 to 59 is infected with HPV, according to a recent report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While Gardasil is not a magic bullet, it protects against the strains of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers cases.

With the vaccine potentially saving many lives, cervical cancer survivor Lori Grice said, she was "completely dumbfounded" that it had become fodder for the culture wars.

"If this were a vaccine for prostate cancer they would have to call in the National Guard to keep the men from storming the place," said Grice, of Statesboro, Ga.

Grice said she plans to have her 6-year-old daughter vaccinated when she's old enough. She said her daughter can "make every right choice," avoiding IV drug use and premarital sex, "but she can marry someone who's a carrier of HPV, develop cervical cancer and die."

The sponsor of the Georgia bill, state Sen. Don Balfour, has said it is a great thing for the health of women in the state.

The religious conservatives did not want the government to mandate a vaccine for "something that is only contracted through sexual activity," said Sadie Fields, executive director of the Georgia Christian Alliance.

Some parents insist that they should decide when their preteen daughter should be offered a vaccine that involved a discussion about sex.

Moira Gaul, director of women's and reproductive health at the conservative Family Research Council, said her group doesn't oppose the vaccine, but doesn't want it required.

"We think parents ought to be given a choice about what is best for their children," she said.

Others were turned off by what they saw as heavy-handed lobbying by the drug's maker, Merck and Co. Critics saw a drug company trying to get rich.

And there were worries that not enough was known about the drug's long-term health effects. As ammunition, critics pointed to Merck's recall of it's popular arthritis drug Vioxx because of increased heart risks. Merck has since said it will not lobby states for mandate bills.

"It's really a shame that politics and ideology are getting in the way of saving lives," said Cantu Hinojosa, assistant director of government relations for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Hinojosa noted that the mandate bills — including the new law in Virginia — have opt-out provisions for parents who don't want their daughters vaccinated.

Still, Hinojosa said five states — Indiana, New York, North Dakota, Utah and Washington — have agreed to fund public education campaigns, which she said is a positive first step.

It's true madness when a kid may have to be taken to another state to get a vaccine against CANCER because some idiots are afraid of it.

I don't believe people are saying that the vaccine shouldn't be available. They're saying that it shouldn't be *forced*.

Let's say that *you* are the parent who takes your 12 year old daughter to the dr to get this vaccine. You think you're doing the right thing to protect her and confident in your decision. A few minutes after the vaccine is given, she throws up. "OK, she's upset. This will pass." But it doesn't. She gets a headache, throws up some more, complains of severe pain at the injection site and develops neurological problems. Or worse yet, she gets the shot, seems fine, then drops dead two weeks later.

Now imagine that you're a parent who's already worried about the short and long-term effects of this shot who's being forced, by the state, to give it to your daughter anyway.

As a mom, it's my job to teach, nourish and protect my children. The state has *no right* to override my efforts to protect my kids. I don't care how much someone loves kids. Nobody will ever have a greater interest in the well being of these two than I do.

We just don't know that it's safe enough for mass vaccinations. In time, I may be won over, but not right now. I've worked too hard to raise this girl to gamble her health on the throw of the dice.

As someone who is both religious and conservative, religious conservatives are more and more ticking me off. The argument that a vaccine would promote promiscuity boggles the mind for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it assumes teenagers are doing a precise risk/reward analysis when they decide to have sex.

I agree. I feel that this argument actually takes away from the very solid safety concerns.

Your utter lack of understaning that every vaccine and every medicine on the market, from penicillin on down, carries risk is also noted.

You're right that every vaccine has risk. But my daughter cannot get HPV by sharing a drinking fountain or breathing the same air as another kid who has the virus. She could get measles (actually she *did* get measles... fully vaccinated, thank you) or mumps or the flu through every day contact. Much of HPV transmission can be prevented by behavior modification. As for the "the husband may have a past" argument; she can get the vaccine later if need be.

Playing the odds. What we really need to know is: How many girls have side effects from the shot? (Is it 1:1000?) What are the odds that a woman will die from cervical cancer? (Is it higher or lower?) What are the *long term* side effects of the shot? (birth defects? infertility? autoimmune disease? cancer? How can we possibly have a frickin' clue about *that* for at least 10 years?)

Until these questions are answered, I will not be giving my daughter this shot.

I wasn't aware of that. In that case, hell no! I'll humbly take my lumps and flames on this one for not being better informed.

OMG. A FReeper just swallowed their pride.

I can die now.

;-)

I am sure if you would read all the information on Gardasil you would be arguing against it too.

It is a very costly,partially effective counter to a cancer that can be dealt with very easily by getting routine Pap smears. The vaccine will not take the place of Paps which will continue to be necessary.

Furthermore,it is relatively untested since the tests were done five or so years ago and the long term consequences are unknown.

Additionally,cervical cancer deaths are but a tiny fraction of the deaths attributable to cancer each year.

All told this is one of the biggest boondoggles they've created that the public has a voice in and if they don't say no,they are more stupid than I think possible,and I am pretty cynical.

I agree with you that the determination as to whether or not to get the vaccine should be left to the parents and the physician, since the only person being put at risk by the lack of vaccination is the parents’ own child.

However, you did say that a woman could be vaccinated later if her husband “has a past.” That’s only true if she’s vaccinated prior to any sexual activity.

However, you did say that a woman could be vaccinated later if her husband “has a past.” That’s only true if she’s vaccinated prior to any sexual activity.

I would hope that my daughter gets to know the guy she's sleeping with well enough to know if she's going to need the vaccine before the act.

It's true madness when a kid may have to be taken to another state to get a vaccine against CANCER because some idiots are afraid of it.

Can you tell me how many 11 year old girls were involved in the clinical trials for this drug, and for how long?

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