Gardasil and the GOP

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE ^ | September 13, 2011 | Henry I. Miller

[neverdem]

More than an hour into last night’s debate, Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked Gov. Rick Perry on the HPV vaccination controversy — or more accurately pseudo-controversy. It stems from an executive order issued by Perry in 2007 that required all Texas girls to receive Gardasil, a vaccine against the most common strains of human papilloma virus, before entering the sixth grade. However, Texas lawmakers blocked that mandate. Some critics argued that the vaccine was too new to have been confirmed safe, while others said that Perry’s order would preempt parental rights or give girls a false sense of security, possibly causing them to become sexually active at a young age.

Bachmann alluded to the Perry’s executive order mandating the exposure of young girls to a “dangerous” vaccine and tried to distinguish Gardasil from other required pediatric vaccines that prevent infectious diseases. Note to Bachmann: The vaccine, Merck’s Gardasil, prevents infection with the most common strains of human papilloma virus. Once established, these viruses can ultimately cause genital warts as well as cervical, anal, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. Thus, by preventing the infection, the vaccine prevents all those sequelae.

In the extensive clinical studies (on more than 20,000 girls and women) that were performed prior to the FDA’s licensing of the vaccine, the vaccine was 100 per cent effective, a virtually unprecedented result. How safe is the vaccine? No serious side effects were detected; the most common side effect is soreness, redness and swelling in the arm at the site of the injection.

In summary, Gardasil has one of the most favorable risk-benefit ratios of any pharmaceutical.

Having spent 15 years at the FDA and having seen regulation — the good, the bad and the ugly — up close, I am as opposed to anyone (exceptperhaps Ron Paul) to non-essential government intrusion into our lives. But some interventions are good. Among those I would include vaccination against childhood diseases and compulsory use of seat belts and motorcycle helmets.

I am discouraged by politicians who not only don’t know much about science, technology, or medicine (which is perhaps understandable) but also don’t know what they don’t know (which is unacceptable). 

Here’s my advice to the presidential hopefuls: If you’re not sure of the facts, keep quiet.

— Henry I. Miller, M.D., is Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy & Public Policy Hoover Institution.

[deport]

Available funds often times dictates ones approach as to how to best solve a problem. Texas is short on cash for road building unless the state is willing to step up with increased taxes/fees/etc. I’m surprised they didn’t raise the gasoline tax this time. I travel many of Texas roads frequently within a 300 mi radius of the Houston area. Road work is a piecemeal process of about 6 mile stretches at a time. Sorry way to approach a needed system that is the life blood of the Texas economy.

I don’t know what the answers are but if they don’t get cranking on something before much longer Texas will be one long bottle neck no matter the direction you travel.

Thanks for the response and I’m out of this topic as this is a Gardasil thread.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “We are managing to do nicely with no vaccines, thank you.” <<

.
Same here, since the early ‘50s when vaccines reared their ugly deadly heads. (but I only have eight grand children)

[stephenjohnbanker]

Now I have heard it all....LOL

Lunacy on parade : )

[SecAmndmt]

“Abstinence offers 100% protection against the same diseases”

Exactly.

“They can keep tweaking the statistics and design of the study to get the results they want.”

This point was well illustrated in the CDC’s 2000 Simpsonwood conference (on mercury in vaccines) minutes.

[SecAmndmt]

“Just say no to polio vaccines!!”

Only the ones which cause polio or have been linked to brain cancer.

[dforest]

Could be that proud rino is suffering from the effects of Gardasil. LOL

Sounds like a tard to me.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Michelle, you are becoming an embarrassment.

I stopped her newsletters. I’ve decided America for another be0*ch who
attacks her own running candidates.

Did you now she helped raise dozens of foster kids and still brought home the bacon?

[SecAmndmt]

“Perry did throw a hissy fit when he was stopped, by all accounts.”

His reaction was pretty revealing. If I recall correctly he also attempted to frame his position as being pro-family.

[sarasmom]

Nice attempt at slithering away, but I'm not buying your half-assed reply as even a half hearted attempt of coming within striking distance of stating facts or truth.

1.What is your position on government mandating Gardisil inoculations for minor female children? (For__ Against__)

2. What major industry do you work for? ___________

Two simple questions, very simple replies requested.

[TribalPrincess2U]

forcing the insurance companies, which are private businesses (or should be) to pay for it if they don’t want to. THIS is what Perry had in mind. He said so.

I'm not questioning this but do you have a link for this statement?

[jospehm20]

It is over now; the TTC is a dead issue. I was pleased when the TTC was announced and that it would be paid for by tolls on the use of it and not new taxes. I-35 simply is inadequate as the main North-South road in Central Texas that runs between 3 of the largest cities in the USA (Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio). I-35 is two lanes/side for a lot of that 200 mile stretch. I have been stuck in very long traffic jams on I-35 because somebody had a wreck miles up the road. I imagine that a replacement will be proposed at some point out of necessity. The state will undoubtedly use eminent domain to acquire the land needed for any new road, as they did when they originally built I-35. Unless the new road is also a public/private partnership like the TTC was, it will probably cost tax payers more than the TTC would have. There were many people in Texas who were dead set against the TTC but I was for it. I just do not see a practical upside in killing it.

[Polybius]

Well, given all that, is Perry pushing the legislature to enact mandatory HPV vaccination? I'm trying to disambiguate his "made a mistake" remark, and discover his view of the government role in public health.

My take on it is that he tried to do the right thing, as he saw it, got raked over the coals and then his politician CYA instincts took over and he back-pedalled as fast as he could.

I, myself, would have argued my point as far as I could possibly take it. However, I have never been elected, let alone reelected, to public office so that is very easy for me to say.

That is the problem with being a politician. You can be a 100% consistent politician or you can be a reelected politician but it is almost impossible to be a 100% consistent reelected politician.

Given the political climate, a mandate will not work until the issue is explained to the population.

It seems that the prevailing, though unstated, objection is that an HPV vaccine implies that my daughter is a shameless hussy.

The reality of the viral chain is that, no matter how virtuous my daughter is, that no-good, man that is NEVER going to be good enough for my daughter (I know that even though I haven't met him yet) can't be trusted as far as you can throw him so all the other shameless hussies he's sleeping with before he meets my daughter need to be vaccinated in order to protect MY daughter.

That message is going to take a while to get across. Sometimes, the easiest thing for a politician to do is say, "Forget it!"

Go back in history and look up how long it took for some communities in the 1950's and 1960's to be convinced that fluoride in the drinking water .... as well as the Polio vaccine .... were not a Communist plot to destroy America.

[Cboldt]

-- My take on it is that he tried to do the right thing, as he saw it, got raked over the coals and then his politician CYA instincts took over and he back-pedalled as fast as he could. --

He was opposed to reversal of his EO on "outcome" groiunds, that public health outcome justified a givernment mandate of the vaccine.

My question is whether or not he maintains that conviction, because he sure as heck isn't making his position clear, and one thing I value in a politician is making their position clear.

[jwalsh07]

What I can’t understand is why you hate Texan females and want them to die from cancer?

Shameful old FR friend.

[brytlea]

Yes:
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/09/12/notes-on-the-cnntea-party-express-gop-debate-night-of-the-texas-two-step-stumble/

Go down to the box where she (Michele Malkin) talks about it.
I heard him say it tho, and I am trying to recall exactly where I heard him explain that’s why. I had no idea until he said it that it was his reasoning.

[brytlea]

Then it will be ok to get it all out there and look under that rock. It should be a plus for Perry.

[jospehm20]

I think so too. I was just offering my opinion of why it did not come up in the debate.

[bvw]

A wart is not a cancer. HPV is the wart-forming virus. Nearly every person has some HPV. I can’t imagine that any are without some form of it.

The polio vaccines stopped polio. Even a 100% population dosing with the gardasil will not stop HPV, nor cervical cancer.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Thanks.

As I’ve said before he may not be the ‘purist’ person but
we’ll never get a ‘purist’. No such thing exists.

I’m voting for him unless Sarah...

[xzins]

Doesn’t matter really in this case because no one was immunized. There were no side effects that affected anyone. There were not even any little pinpricks in anyone’s arm.

There was nothing except a potentially bad decision that was stopped long before it was ever implemented.

And the decision itself could well be seen as a fair response to the then current understanding of HPV by an over-protective parent....that was stopped.