Good article. Governor Perry managed to piss off a lot of Republicans and Conservatives in Texas when he tried to shove it down Texans’ throats, even after his ties to the company were already publicized.
Gov Perry is a disappointment just like his good friend Bush. Government Mandatory positions are not conservative way of thinking.
If I ever have a daughter, I will get her vaccinated with Gardasil.
That being said, there isn't any reason to require that schoolkids receive this vaccine. I would limit required vaccines to diseases that are spread easily, such as measles and polio. HPV is, generally, transmitted through sexual contact, so it doesn't fall in the same category.
He could have just waited for the Texas Department of Health Services to make the vaccine mandatory, the same way they did with the chicken pox vaccine, Hepatitis B (given to babies before they go home from the hospital the first time), and Hep A. They don’t need the Legislature’s permission to add vaccines to the mandatory list.
Instead, he used the opportunity to order TDHS to simplify the opt out process.
And it’s still available (virtually pushed) at the Federally funded clinics and paid for by the Vaccines for Children program for medicaid, SCHIP, and uninsured patients.