Very statist post.
HPV is transmitted by behavioral actions and is not contagious in the way that chicken pox, measles, influenza, etc.
As far as I’ve been able to discover there have been no “sudden outbreaks” of HPV affecting large local populations. One has have direct with an infected person for the viral transmission. It is not like typhoid or cholera.
So Governor Perry circumvented the legislative process and public debate and issued an edict, the executive order, to benefit Merck, the public be damned.
The opt-out provision is immaterial to the abuse of executive power to impose forced inoculation which has serious consequences for a significant portion of those inoculated with a drug fast tracked by the FDA with no serious study of long term effects.
Perry further exhibits his arrogance by not having rescinded his executive order, relying on the Texas legislators to do the job. Brings back memories of LBJ and his life story closely matches LBJ’s.
He can talk smoothly but as far as I can tell he’s a wave rider with a very keen sense of the shifts in public opinion. His readiness to change party affiliation after Turd Blossom’s seduction underscores his drive for power.
The approach of big money interests urging him to run absent any previous public expression of running justs cements his lust for power.
He’s going to be walking a whole herd of cats back in short order.
HPV of all forms is spread by contact. Warts you may have on your hands or elsewhere are caused by strains of HPV. Nearly all contract HPV of one form or another. It's ubiquitous. Most of the time a normal healthy immune system deals with it fine.
How do you know if or what strains, of hundreds, you've been exposed to? You don't unless you develop symptoms. For strains causing cervical cancer that can take years even decades and if you want the vaccine it's best to give it before risk of any exposure. The very reason annual pap smears are done is HPV.
Since the Perry debacle there's now a second HPV vaccine (Cervarex) but works against fewer strains than Gardasil.
I think a lot of people are squeamish about STD vaccines because they think it's a comment on their morals, their parenting or in some way gives permission to children to be sexual activity. It's none of those.
The way I see it is there's no way any of us can know if a daughter is going to be molested or raped by a pervert who happens to be a carrier.
I would not want to find out a vaccine may have prevented a cancer problem later and not have taken advantage of that preventative medicine.
Very good point. Chicken pox, measles, influenza, polio and a host of other plauge-like diseases are transferred by mere contact or proximity.
HPV is transferred by sexual activity; which TYPICALLY does not occur in a school environment. Now, as for the merits of this shot - I agree that I would encourage my daughters/grandaughters to get this. But, I would not DICTATE or foce them to do so. This was not the action of a man who stands for a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC, but a man who fancies himself a Dictator.
He did not “circumvent” the legal process. The Legislature gave him the authority over the years in little tweaks to the vaccine laws.
About half of all men and women are infected with HPV at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency recommends that girls get the vaccine when they are 11 or 12 so they will have immunity before they become sexually active.
I have no problems with Executive Orders. With this order, I am troubled due to the appearance of carrying Merks water. However, whether or not this immunization should be mandated of those who attend public school is a close call. Sometimes a leader needs to lead and accept the consequences.
The below immunizations are currently required of school children in Texas:
Poliomyelitis (Polio) Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DPT, DTaP) Measles, Mumps, or Rubella
Hepatitis B (hepatitis, hepatitis B is a type that can move from one person to another through blood and other bodily fluids. It can be transmitted through sexual intercourse and through needles — such as those shared by intravenous drug or steroid users who have the virus, or tattoo needles that haven’t been properly sterilized.)
Varicella (the chickenpox vaccine)
Hepatitis A
Haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB) and invasive pneumococcal vaccines.
To this list Perry added the HPV vaccine. Ironically, Executive Orders by Texas Governors carry no force of law. Although the Governor may direct State agencies to draft rules, they are under no compulsion to do so. The Governor may direct funds be spent on a program; however, that power belongs to the Legislature.
HPV causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. HPV infects approximately 20 million people in the United States with 6.2 million new cases each year. There is no treatment for HPV, only treatment for related health problems. There are more than 30 strains of HPV that affect at least half of sexually active people in their lifetime. Most strains of HPV do not produce any symptoms and disappear on their own. Cervical cancer is the second leading cancer killer of women worldwide. In the United States, nearly 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and 3,700 women die.
As of 2011, there are two FDA-approved vaccines on the market. Merck’s Gardasil, which protects against HPV strains 6, 11, 16 and 18, and GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix, which targets HPV strains 16 and 18. Almost 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts cases are linked to these four strains of HPV. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends administering the vaccine to girls between 11 and 12 years of age, before they become sexually active.
Bills have been introduced in about 20 states to require the vaccine.