Texas Gov. orders anti-cancer vaccine for schoolgirls

[KarenCee 3]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_...cervical_cancer.

AUSTIN, Texas - Bypassing the Legislature, Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

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By issuing an executive order, Perry apparently sidesteps opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents' rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way parents raise their children.

Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to get Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion 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 from the one that protects children against polio.

"The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer," Perry said in announcing the order.

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil 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.

Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's 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.

Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents' rights to make medical decisions 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.

[almaty 19]

good start..they use vaccinations for measles, etc...i like the idea

[ChristinaM 0]

HPV can be picked up without ever having sex too, so it just makes good sense.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

good start..they use vaccinations for measles, etc...i like the idea

Too much of the pharmaceutical company influencing public policy. I'd like to see an independent study with recommendations before taking such a bold step.

[The_dip_sticks 0]

Id also like to read all the fine print to know what is in that shot. Id want to know what the side effects are even if they are not too serious before I allow them to stick any thing in me or in my future daughters.

" Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects."

[peezey 0]

good start..they use vaccinations for measles, etc...i like the idea

Too much of the pharmaceutical company influencing public policy. I'd like to see an independent study with recommendations before taking such a bold step.

You won't find that now since it will take years to show what you might be looking for, eg, a huge long term study of those who get the shot.

The clinical studies are sound, and there have also been extensive blood screening studies (bloodbank studies).

I don't see it as any different than other required vaccines, although I would prefer the CDC to make this determination rather than a governor.

Edited February 2, 2007 by peezey

[one...two...tree 2,762]

good start..they use vaccinations for measles, etc...i like the idea

Too much of the pharmaceutical company influencing public policy. I'd like to see an independent study with recommendations before taking such a bold step.

You won't find that now since it will take years to show what you might be looking for, eg, a huge long term study of those who get the shot.

The clinical studies are sound, and there have also been extensive blood screening studies (bloodbank studies).

I don't see it as any different than other required vaccines, although I would prefer the CDC to make this determination rather than a governor.

Yes, at least they can get some numbers as to how many girls are at risk.

[peezey 0]

Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.

Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted....

This means 70 other strains/types are passed through non-sexual contact.

Link, from CDC site

[DeadPoolX 9]

It should be noted that there are relatively few "high risk" strains of HPV. Those are the strains that are responsible for cervical cancer. The vast majority of HPV infections go unnoticed (without any symptoms whatsoever) and are eliminated by the body's own immune system within six months to one year. This is how 50% of sexually active men and women can have an HPV infection (or two or three, etc) at some point in their lives, without it necessarily turning deadly. If the CDC is right in that by age 50, 80% of women will have contracted an HPV infection, that still doesn't mean it will turn into cervical cancer. After all, the medical community doesn't see cervical cancer in 50% to 80% of all sexually active women, so while the chances are high of getting HPV, the odds are much lower of receiving a strain that produces cervical cancer.

[de_sjiem 0]

It should be noted that there are relatively few "high risk" strains of HPV. Those are the strains that are responsible for cervical cancer. The vast majority of HPV infections go unnoticed (without any symptoms whatsoever) and are eliminated by the body's own immune system within six months to one year. This is how 50% of sexually active men and women can have an HPV infection (or two or three, etc) at some point in their lives, without it necessarily turning deadly. If the CDC is right in that by age 50, 80% of women will have contracted an HPV infection, that still doesn't mean it will turn into cervical cancer. After all, the medical community doesn't see cervical cancer in 50% to 80% of all sexually active women, so while the chances are high of getting HPV, the odds are much lower of receiving a strain that produces cervical cancer.

Even if the percentage of women it keeps from getting cervical cancer is small, its still worth it.. They are still cervical cancer free thanks to the vaccine..

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If this makes a big corporation money, many people will be against it. LOL. Too bad Merck/BMS/JNJ etc forced all the mom-n-pop pharma manufacturers out of business

[Velvettt 0]

I am amazed at how many of you are missing the "OMG OMG OMG" factor of this event. Texas is probably the most powerful stronghold of the rightwing Christian movement. For a Texas governor to do this, when (wrongly) most people think of HPV as a sexually transmitted disease, is a HUGE giant big deal. The Christians down here are already in an uproar at the governor "advocating sex for young girls"... yeah, I know. I don't understand these people either. But anyway... wow.

[KarenCee 3]

I am amazed at how many of you are missing the "OMG OMG OMG" factor of this event. Texas is probably the most powerful stronghold of the rightwing Christian movement. For a Texas governor to do this, when (wrongly) most people think of HPV as a sexually transmitted disease, is a HUGE giant big deal. The Christians down here are already in an uproar at the governor "advocating sex for young girls"... yeah, I know. I don't understand these people either. But anyway... wow.

That's what I was thinking too. Sounds like the right wing Christians have a "one-up" with this one. They'll use the misinformed ideas about HPV to gain ground for their platform which shouldn't bother me, but it does.

[Cassie 8]

/sigh

well, as a Christian myself, I'm siding with the governor on this one. It irks me that this has the potential to be twisted out of what it actually is -- a breakthrough in preventative medicine.

[Alex+R 0]

I don't really care why the governor mandated this because it will never harm those girls, as far as we know. You can't prevent HPV any other way besides abstinence since the virus can pass through a condom. If drug companies are responsible for this, then just this time that's ok with me. Mandating this will mean that young girls can be protected from the reactionary beliefs of their parents.