Posted on 02/02/2007 1:28:44 PM PST by YCTHouston
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry ordered today that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots.
The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Details of the order were not immediately available, but the governor's office confirmed to The Associated Press that he was signing the order and he would comment Friday afternoon.
Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
Toomey was expected to be able to woo conservative legislators concerned about the requirement stepping on parent's rights and about signaling tacit approval of sexual activity to young girls. Delisi, as head of the House public health committee, which likely would have considered legislation filed by a Democratic member, also would have helped ease conservative opposition.
Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.
It wasn't immediately clear how long the order would last and whether the legislation was still necessary. However it could have been difficult to muster support from lawmakers who champion abstinence education and parents' rights.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion rights and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base.
But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different than the one that protects children against polio.
"If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals to have those vaccines available," he said.
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit stating that he or she objected to the vaccine for religious or philosophical reasons.
Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say mandates take away parents' rights to be the primary medical decision maker for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
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.
Boys get HPV infection in the form of genital warts and can spread it to females who in turn get cervical or oropharyngeal cancer. Boys and boys together (it happens even in Texas) can cause oropharyngeal and anal cancers.
But they can get penile cancer from certain strains of HPV, IIRC. And they can certainly spread HPV.
Not until Merck completes the male testing and gets FDA approval, and that's well more than 5-7 years away.
This isn't the first anti-cancer vaccine that has been made mandatory. Hepatitis B vaccine prevents liver cancer.
Actually, some people see mandating a vaccine that is unneccesary as a usurpation of parental rights.
A parent refused to vaccinate his child and not only was the child banned from the classroom but the school system moved to remove the child from the parents home.
This was a NJ freeper and goes back a few years ago. I do not know how this was resolved.
I'm just making the point that girls would not get the virus unless they are having sex with boys.. so why not figure out how to nip it in the bud at the source first?
You're wrong about that. Yes, there are many different HPV viruses spread by many means. There are STD-specific HPV viruses though, and they are the ones most likely to cause cancer.
Of course not, but there is a significant number of cervical cancer patients with HPV that weren't sexually active or their monogamous partner doesn't have it.
In several cases, the women with HPV were cloistered nuns.
I don't know all the ways HPV can be transmitted, but vaccines are far more cost-effective than treating the disease it prevents.
It apparently results in a worse, and potentially fatal, outcome for females. What woman wouldn't want the vaccine? Even a virgin until marriage ought to have the protection, if it's only contagious by sex, unless she knows her husband doesn't have the virus.
Fortunately the drug never got FDA approval in the states because of one woman who sat on the FDA review panel. The pharma company pushed the FDA hard on it but this woman would not budge. She had heard via her professional grapevine of the first defects and physicians in Europe were suspecting the Thalidomide. Thanks to her we were spared the bulk of the Thalidomide tragedy.
There were some cases here. These women had brought the drug back from Europe. As I recall it did not take many doses to cause the defects--a couple of gals only took it 3 or 4 times. That first trimester is the foundation for a healthy baby and the drug interrupted the development resulting in deformed or no limbs.
My daughters are all too old but if I were faced with giving them this vax I would seriously hestitate. The longitudinal studies on this vax have yet to come in. Talk to me in 10 or 15 years once the current group of girls who receive this vax have healthy babies.
Also, this vax does not prevent all forms of cervical cancer. The ads state that pertinent fact in small letters.
Last time I checked, men weren't getting prostate cancer from STD's on a regular basis. Anatomy isn't the only thing you need to check your knowledge on.
Perry just called every middle school child in Texas a whore by signing this thing. Affixing the same label to him is entirely appropriate.
THAT IS, unless you are an illegal immigrant. Then it's no problemo.
Gov. Perry should focus on seeing to it ALL children are up to date on the shots they are supposed to have...NOT THIS!
sw
Well, I haven't had it. According to this....
...and my doc, I'm not in a high risk group. So no thanks :)
If readers read the whole thing - there is a opt-out. I will be studying it.
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.