Posted on 09/13/2011 2:48:19 PM PDT by 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.
Yes, I know. I am an M.D. I am well aware of that.
HPV is the wart-forming virus.
Do you actually believe that a virus is capable of one and only one effect?
That is like claiming that the common cold virus is "the runny nose virus" and therefore can't possibly cause a sore throat.
That is like claiming that cats are "the scratching animals" and, therefore, cannot also bite.
The fact of the matter is that HPV can cause BOTH warts AND cervical cancer.
But, don't just take my word for it or the medical literature's word for it. Here is a State of Alaska document with Sarah Palin's name on the letterhead that explains it for you:
Did you get that?
" ...... human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause the majority of cases of cervical cancer and genital warts ..."
Nearly every person has some HPV. I cant imagine that any are without some form of it.
Really?
A virgin 12 year old has had Types 16 and Type 18 HPV exposure to her uterine cervix according to you? (Types 16 and Type 18 HPV account for 70% of all cervical cancers.)
Ummmm ..... No, they have not.
The Human Papilloma Virus in question is transmitted by direct sexual contact to the specific region.
The polio vaccines stopped polio. Even a 100% population dosing with the gardasil will not stop HPV, nor cervical cancer.
Do you have the slightest clue about what you are saying or are you just making things up as you go along?
Do you have the slightest clue HOW the polio vaccine eradicated polio?
Do you have the slightest clue HOW LONG it took for the polio virus to become extinct in in North and South America, as well as Europe?
Did the vaccine stop Polio overnight?
No.
It stopped new infections from occurring since the vaccinated were immune. WITH THE PASSAGE OF MANY YEARS, the number of infected persons kept decreasing with normal attrition and no new infections occurred. Then after a few DECADES, the Polio virus became extinct in North and South America when the last infected person on the Western Hemispere died.
In 1952, the U.S. had 58,000 new cases of polio. The Salk polio vaccine was introduced in 1955 but the process described above did not eradicate polio in North and South America until 1994 and did not eradicate polio in Europe until 2002.
That is how you eradicate a virus from a population:
(Stopping new cases by vaccination ) + (Decades of time) = Virus eradicated from an entire continent
You should really make an effort to educate yourself because you are doing nothing but spreading misinformation.
My last visit to FL was in 1999 - funeral for my dad.
Mom and Dad moved to FL from L.I. in 1991, so I was there (north of Tampa) a number of times.
Funny, I don’t remember observing teeth!
Did observe mucho fattiness, tho - awful.
When I returned home in 1999, I told my adult kids to keep all birthday cakes slices small for me!!! We have many yearly birthdays. . .
Wasn’t aware of a FL druggie problem.
You couldn’t be more wrong. An Executive (that’s why it’s called “chief executieve”) executes. That means he gets things done. He couldn’t do that without issuing orders.
Are we to pretend that the president’s “commander in chief” role doesn’t involve commanding? Like it or not, Truman fired MacArthur.
Perry missed a huge opportunity the other night. When they were all talking thru the eyes of legislators about never ever issuing an executive order, he should have laughed at them and told them they obviously didn’t have a clue about being in charge and issuing orders. All they knew about was casting their ballot in a cast of hundreds....no responsibility, no buck stops here.
Seriously? The Health Department nurse specifically told me the vaccine basically prevented genital warts which are associated with cervical cancer. However, not all types of cervical cancer are stopped by the vaccine. I don’t know why you argue this obvious point.
I am not arguing that point. But I just do not see the real distinction. I recall the uproar over Jonas Salk’s vaccine which contained live viruses. It was a long way from being fool-proof, but such was the urgency over the epidemics, that the authorities pushed it through. Many people caught the disease from the vaccine, but the great majority did not. Many months a “dead-virus” vaccine against polio was developed and distributed.
IAC.my objection to Perry’s action is not that it was “forced,” on the public , but that it was what they call in government circles, “a big buy.” Merck was able to sell a good product in industrial amounts and cultivate its relationship with the State by giving us a “good deal.” There is a whiff of corruption to this, although it is done all the time, because of the lack of public scrutiny in the legislature. Perry was, I think, bowing to this concern. I don’t share Bachman’s outrage, in part because it is self-serving. But she is right that the coziness between big business and politicians —and indeed between little business and politicians—is not a good thing, because it leaves the rest of us out of the picture.
I really don’t think there is an argument here even if you so desire. You challenged me over the “purpose” of the vaccine as advertised and I know what I am talking about. Whether I believe it or not, whether it is true or not, whether there is only one cause of cervical cancer, STDs/genital warts/cervical cancer/Gardisil is the connection.
I think Perry is a lot smarter than we are giving him credit for. Look at the Gardasil controversy. Bachmann has knocked herself out of the top tier of candidates because of her over reaction. Perry acknowledges he made a mistake, but will come out of this looking great because the the guiding principal in his initial decision was the protection of Texans. The charge of crony capitalism in this case is such an overreach Bachmann and Palin have tarnished their brand significantly.
Perry may be doing the same thing with the Ponzi Scheme controversy. Romney is going nuts about how great the program is and at some point Perry is going to come out with reasonable reforms. Romney will then have to jump on board or become marginalized, either way he clearly falls behind Perry because Perry was the leader throughout the whole discussion.
Bump!
Lunacy on parade : )
Incredible, isn't it? I've added it to the long and growing list of stupid things Perry supporters say.
It would benefit you and the understanding of this issue, Miss Marmelstein, to look at what was actually written, to stop mixing political hyperbole with medical data and to stop the mocking hysterical imagery you engaged in ("streets were lined with women dropping dead from cervical cancer).
Did I mention cervical cancer incidence and death figures anywhere in my prior post?
No, I did not. But I will in this post.
Have some people on this thread come, flat out, and falsely claimed that HPV only causes warts and not cancer?
Yes. See my Post 161 regarding that false claim.
Have I addressed the false logic of some that, if they keep their daughters virgins until their daughter's wedding nights, HPV will never affect them?
Yes. The 13 year old, back in 1991, that had sex with someone that had sex with someone that had sex with her non-virgin groom could be the source of the HPV infection the brand new son-in-law gave the 25 year old virgin bride daughter on her wedding night as a wedding present.
So, Miss Marmelstein, this is the medical data. (Without your hyperbolic mockery of "streets lined with women dropping dead".)
What is the association between HPV infection and cancer and what is the U.S. cervical cancer mortality data? From the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
"Persistent HPV infections are now recognized as the cause of essentially all cervical cancers. It was estimated that, in 2010, about 12,000 women in the United States would be diagnosed with this type of cancer and more than 4,000 would die from it."
So, Miss Marmelstein, we are not talking about "the streets were lined with women dropping dead from cervical cancer".
We are < sarcasm>"only" < /sarcasm> talking about 1,000 more deaths than occurred at the September 11 Attack in 2001,..... Except that those 4,000 deaths occur year ... after year .... after .... after year .... after year.
Does that satisfy you now, Miss Marmelstein?
We are < sarcasm>only < /sarcasm> talking about the death total equivalent of a 9-11 Attack Plus One Thousand More, every single year, year after year and not, as you mockingly put it, "streets were lined with women dropping dead from cervical cancer".
And every single one of those deaths is liked back to HPV infection.
What is the incidence of HPV in the population?
Right now, 26% of all U.S. women are infected with HPV.
National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
"published in the February 28, 2007, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have provided the first national estimate of the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among women in the United States aged 14 to 59. Investigators found that a total of 26.8 percent of women overall tested positive for one or more strains of HPV ..."
As the Canadian study stated, with that prevalence of HPV in the population and with cheating husbands, cheating wives, second marriages and "dating" between marriages being what it is nowadays, the chances of the average person being infected in their lifetime by HPV is 70%.
Those are the facts, without your mocking hysterial hyperbole.
1.) HPV infection "is recognized as the cause of essentially all cervical cancers".
2.) Four thousand women in the U.S. die of cervical cancer in the U.S. every single year: Year after year after year.
3.) Twenty six percent (26%) of all U.S. woman are infected by HPV at any one time and the chances of the normal North American getting infected during their lifetime is 70%.
Use the actual medical facts as you see fit.
Oh, one more thing, Miss Marmelstein, that "hysterical AIDS crisis of the 1980s" that you mocked has since ENDED UP KILLING an estimated 617,025 people in the U.S.
That equals 200,000 more American deaths than all of the American deaths in World War II.
At it's peak in the U.S., it was killing tens of thousands of Americans, year after year after year before public health efforts brought the death rate down.
At it's peak, the "hysterical AIDS crisis of the 1980s" that you mocked killed 41,699 Americans in a SINGLE YEAR. By comparison, the entire Korean War killed 36,516 Americans.
Are you really that callous or are you simply totally uniformed about the death total numbers that you mock?
Don't lecture me about cervical cancer. My grandmother died of it at 36 years old. I am at high risk for it myself. I just refuse to give in to hysteria and hypochondria. It's un-American. It's Michael Bloomberg writ large and I will have none of it.
Simply using hyperbole on those who think that $250/month since 2000 was actually influencing Perry.
Hell, that don’t even influence me!~!
Wow. I was being nice to you and now I wonder why.
WTF are you to demand info from me you prying bitch?
2.After you gave a half assed reply to my post, I asked two simple questions, both of which are very pertinent in evaluating the value of your opinions, on this thread.
But thanks for your reply!
It conveys more info about you than simple one word answers to my questions would.
Well, my beef is with the government involving itself in mandating what insurance companies cover. It’s not the government’s business. This is what a small government conservative believes. Is this not what you believe?
I need a hedgetrimmer to cut thru the crap.
What a despicable waste of human life you are. I fell sorry for you, you loathsome creature.
You mad, bro?
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