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.
If you really want to save the taxpayer money, your effort should focus on circumcising all men, and making sure they don’t have more than one sexual partner in their lifetime.
All sexually transmitted diseases could easily be reduced in the population. Society will be healthier and more stable too.
Instead, you want predator promiscuous men to be able to have sexual contact with 12 year old girls with no consequence. That’s despicable.
But there is no significance difference between this and a hepititus shot.
And it does reduce the risk of cancer. So why the hysteria? Only because Michelle is losing altitude and she is flapping her wings to keep from crashing. A better tact, and too late now, is to go after this as evidence that Perry is hardly a small government pol. Like Bush, he loves these big solutions to real problems.
No, I am saying that both drug are effective in guarding against ailments. Any person who takes them has some protection against terrible things.
You’re saying instead of protecting our children we should give them drugs so promiscuous predator males can do terrible things to them with no consequence except to the taxpayer.
Unbelievable.
Cervical cancer occurs when the HPV virus is transmitted to the female by men who have had multiple sex partners.
Two decades ago, adult women were warned against having sex with predator men— men who have promiscuous sex with many partners.
Now, we are forcing CHILDREN—not adult sexually active women— to take a ‘vaccine’ to protect THEM, from diseases these promiscuous predator men carry.
What a CULTURE CHANGE. When did it become OK in our culture for predator promiscuous men to prey on CHILDREN? The problem people have is the force inoculation on CHILDREN who should be PROTECTED by their fathers and the LAW,and not made available to the predators without consequence under the force of law.
And all this is paid for by the taxpayer to guarantee Merck income for making contributions to the corrupt politicians backing the bill.
It stinks BIGTIME, its NOT a conservative value and it further destroys the culture of our founding by putting innocent children up for predators to do ‘terrible things’ to them, as another poster put it.
Its crazy that this is happening, and that so many people are so corrupt and so on the take they are arguing innocent children should be made prey.
The ‘vaccine’ our daughter need is FATHERS with BACKBONE to defend their daughters from the preying sexual predators and the preying pharmaceutical company that makes money off of enabling them. Don’t you see the harm? If not our free beautiful republic blessed by the creator, has failed, failed miserably.
BTW, the headline is Gardisil and the GOP, not ‘safety and effectiveness of Garisil’.
BTW 2, HPV is spread by promiscuous predator males, having sex with 12 year old girls used to be called statutory rape, but apparently the GOP has forgotten that as well.
Merck money is an awful soporific. It shuts off peoples brains and morals.
BTW3. Protect the bill of rights— stand up for rights of children, don’t sell them out just to get money from Merck. Twelve year old American citizen girls who are innocent have rights too, even though they can’t vote and are being used as tools by the GOP and Merck.
I wonder how many men still believe that they must raise their own children, and protect them from abuse by predators? They are in short supply today! Do you have any female children, and do you condone them having sex with promiscuous men?
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.