HPV Vaccine - Mandatory(?!) in Texas Schools

[Red Right and BLUE]

Texas Requires Cancer Vaccine for Girls

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON
Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) -- Gov. Rick Perry ordered Friday 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.


http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/02/D8N1PVG80.html

Shouldn't that be up the parents?

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Yes it probably should be up to the parents

but I don't see this as a bad thing. Saving girls from cancer is not something I would argue against.

[Red Right and BLUE]

4. I agree for the most part but this should be a doctor/parent thing.

It's really slimy to make money by requiring that it be done. Don't get me wrong; I was just as put off by the religious nuts who tried to fight the vaccine.

[Katherine Brengle]

2. Nope, too many parents are too stupid.

Sorry, but I support this one. This vaccine PREVENTS CANCER. A particularly horrid form of cancer.

No parent should have the right to decide "cancer" for their child.

No fucking way.

[Red Right and BLUE]

6. Your child won't automatically get cancer if they don't get this vaccine.

And for the record, I'm FOR getting the vaccine. I'm just not for any school deciding what gets put into my child's body.

edit for typos

[Katherine Brengle]

9. Nope, but getting will prevent it altogether --

and that, to me, is absolutely worth it. The rate of HPV among the American population is staggering. There are several strains that cause cervical cancer.

An ounce of prevention.

[TheMadMonk]

31. Your child won't automatically die of Whooping Cough or Measles.

So why vaccinate against those diseases? (Same idjit argument)

Think about it.

[Subdivisions]

3. Were the vaccines that left that mark on your

left shoulder given at the discretion of your parents?

I don't think so.

(Edited to add: This innoculation program ended many years ago and so some of you who are younger (or who live in other countries) may not make this connection.)

[Red Right and BLUE]

5. Has nothing to do with my question.

Just wanted to know what other people thought of this.

[Subdivisions]

10. My point is that some vaccinations are done with the best interest

of the public in mind and are therefore mandated by public health policy.

From Wikipedia (for what it's worth):

Compulsory vaccination and opposition to vaccination
In an attempt to eliminate the risk of outbreaks of some diseases, several governments and other institutions have instituted policies requiring vaccination for all people. For example, an 1853 law required universal vaccination against smallpox in England and Wales, with fines levied on people who did not comply. In the United States, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1905 case Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts that the state could require individuals to be vaccinated for the common good. Common contemporary vaccination policies require that children receive common vaccinations before entering school. Compulsory vaccination is believed to have greatly reduced the rates of some infectious diseases.<2>

Beginning with early vaccination in the nineteenth century, these policies led to resistance from a variety of groups, collectively called anti-vaccinationists, who objected on ethical, political, medical safety, religious, and other grounds. Common objections are that compulsory vaccination represents excessive government intervention in personal matters, or that the proposed vaccinations are not sufficiently safe. Many modern vaccination policies allow exemptions for people who have compromised immune systems, allergies to the components used in vaccinations or strongly-held objections.<2>

In 1904 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil a government program of mandatory smallpox vaccination resulted in the so-called Vaccine Revolt, several days of rioting with considerable property damage and a number of deaths.

Some text in this excerpt is linked in the original version located here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinations.

As for how I feel about it, I agree that sometimes the public cannot be trusted to know what is best to prevent the spread of disease. The vaccinations I was given as a child (which wasn't a pleasant experience and left a scar on my shoulder) prevented the spread of serious diseases and was mandated by various governments, including our federal government.

This mandatory vaccination will prevent the spread of Cervical Cancer. We've fought for years to find cures or vaccinations for all forms of cancer. As such, this vaccination is necessary and to ensure all girls are vaccinated, it must be mandatory.

[seabeyond]

15. i dont agree that the vaccinations are necessarily of good intent

i dont trust our govt that far. next do we require the flu shot. they are trying in texas. i have always been opposed to the flu shot. i preferred kids to get chicken pox than a shot to keep them away from chicken pox. i wasn't fearful of the disease, i am concerned about if the shot wears off in two decades all the adults that then come down with chicken pox. it happens with vaccinations. why should i trust either govt or our pharmaceutical industry

[Katherine Brengle]

7. ?

Lost me with this one...

[Subdivisions]

11. Perhaps you live in a country which did not mandate vaccinations

for mumps, measels and rubella (and polio and smallpox too, if I recall correctly). Or, maybe you were born after the era during which these vaccinations were mandated, for they are no longer required.

The injection was administered by a needle gun that had six needles that left a round scar on the shoulder of those who were given it.

Those vaccinations were mandated, just as the Texas HPV vaccination is. The Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinations describes the history of this mandatory innoculation program.

[Katherine Brengle]

17. Um, I live in the US...

I've had all those vacs, but maybe not long enough ago. My 2 year old has had them as well, no scars...

I guess I'll have to go read that article.

[Subdivisions]

19. The article doesn't mention the scar...

I guess I'm the only DU'er who has this scar?

Nevermind...

[Katherine Brengle]

24. No it didn't --

not saying you were wrong, I just have no knowledge on that particular subject.

:shrug:

[Bjornsdotter]

22. Or they used

...a ring with prongs that punctured your skin or a piece of broken glass, like a broken test tube. I can also remember getting a small pox vaccine where the MD used a needle to repeatedly poke my skin until it bled through.

BTW, I think it's up to the parents as far as the new vaccine.

Cheers

[uppityperson]

20. smallpox

[LeftyMom]

8. Like all states except Missisippi, Texas has opt-out procedures.

In California you just flip the form over and sign the back. In Texas you have to fill out a form from the Dept of Health and get it notarized.

[newburgh]

12. It should be up to the parents. What has Merck done to prove that

these work in the long term and that they don't have long term side effects? As was discussed earlier this week about this, there are some red flags and grave misconceptions about the idea of a drug manufacturer lobbying for required use of their own product and the product's effectiveness as indicated by a neutral, non-industry entity. This is a long, slippery slope...

[Red Right and BLUE]

13. Thank you very much.

That's exactly what I'm concerned about.

[Bjornsdotter]

23. Exactly! n/t

[TheMadMonk]

33. Not real comfy with Merke lobbying for their product like this either,

However, IIRC this is the most heavily tested, and the most efficacious (100% protection in trials IIRC.) vaccines ever produced.

As for long term effects, the same question hangs over every single drug/treatment released to market. All we can ever do is suck in and see, unless you want mandate multi-generational drug trials for everything.

[seabeyond]

14. as texas required hep c and chicken pox not long ago. i am opposed

to our govt passing law telling parents to get these vaccinations. i didnt like it at all being forced to get either of those shots for my kids. they already have a long list of vaccinations they are required to get. i dont think either of those two shots should have been manditory. and the cervical cancer shot should be left to the parents to decide. there are factors i would consider before getting my daughter the shot (if i had a daughter). but since i dont have a daughter, it isnt effecting me.

[Sgent]

16. There's another isssue too

for Medicaid, CHIPS, and private insurance to pay for the vaccine, it must be mandated by the state.

[insane_cratic_gal]

18. We have people fighting the Vaccine

they believe if a woman can get a std that causes cancer she might wait for marriage! WTF so for them it's a deterrent to have sex.

I agree I think it should be mandatory, just as the vaccines for chickenpox, measles (that can cause men to become sterile if not vaccinated)we are talking about a vaccine that could save women's lives.

I have no issue dragging my 11 yr old to get the shot.

[seabeyond]

21. my rubella wore off after three decades. my doctor insisted with my unusual blood

that i had better get another vaccination so i would never get the disease and it effect my blood. already unusual enough blood, forget what it is. he told me that it is not unusual for the vaccination of childhood to wear off in adult hood.

how do i know my sons wont later in life now get chicken pox where as if they had gotten the disease i would know for sure they wouldn't get it in adult hood...

[Katherine Brengle]

26. Chicken pox isn't cancer. nt

[seabeyond]

29. you do understand the risk to adult male and preg mothers getting

chicken pox, seeing how clever and knowledgeable you are with such a blunt post of yours. surely you wouldn't be so snide with the information of risk to these groups.

[Katherine Brengle]

25. I started having sex...

long before I ever knew about HPV. AIDS? Sure. Pregnancy? Of course.

HPV? Nope, never heard of it.

Hope that doesn't come back to bite me, and I will absolutely be vaccinating my daughter when she is old enough. Not doing so would be flat out irresponsible imo.

[tammywammy]

27. I saw a woman on the news this morning

They were discussing the whole waiting for marriage, and this mother was very sensible. She said something along the lines of, "I want my daughter to wait, but in the future, what if she ends up with a partner that didn't wait and has HPV, why shouldn't she be vaccinated?"

[LeftyMom]

28. It's Mumps that causes male sterility in very rare cases.

When orchitis occurs it's almost always in one teste, leaving the guy with enough viable sperm to knock up every woman in the world a mere inch away.

[antigop]

30. I would opt out of it for my child

How much clinical data do they have on it -- what are the long-term effects?

Do you really trust Bush government agencies these days to do the appropriate public watchdog activities when there is money to be made by the pharmaceutical companies?

Do you KNOW that the appropriate tests have been done? DO you TRUST that the appropriate tests have been done?

I don't. So I would opt out.

It's simple -- I JUST don't trust them.

[newburgh]

35. Why opt out? Why not just make the vaccine available and inform everyone

of its purpose? If the state mandates it, the state is also liable if anything happens in the long term.

Too many people blindly trust the medical industry. Not taking the time to research and take charge of your own health exposes you to more risks than these diseases that they purport to resolve or prevent. Forcefully taking away that decision-making process further erodes the incentive to take your health choices more seriously...

[antigop]

37. It the state mandates it, my only option is to OPT OUT n/t

[Bluebear]

32. I'd like to see girls protected from their fundy parents in this instance.

Normally I would appreciate the parent's right to choose, but in a public health aspect like this and for the health of the female I lean towards universal vaccination.

[UTUSN]

34. Whatever good the vaccine, it's a WINDFALL for Merck. Nothing good from Goodhair n/t

[AZBlue]

41. I don't get that reasoning. Leave children vulnerable but just don't pay Merck a dime?

That makes no sense.

[windbreeze]

36. They have no right to do this...

Sorry...freedom of choice should enter into this...when are we going to get it through our heads, that it is OUR responsibility to keep our kids/ourselves safe...why do we want the gov't to do it for us? or allow them to think we do depend upon them?...how about the guys getting some form of the shot too? Sexually transmitted virus....right???which means guy to gal...not gal to gal....I also have to ask...do I trust that this vaccination has been tested enough...or could I expect that my daughter is going to be used as a guinea pig for Merck...sorry....too many medicines are given to people, only to have this that or the other thing take place, that wouldn't have happened to the people if they hadn't taken the medicine in the first place(think vioxx)...because it wasn't tested enough BEFORE it was given...and I sure as hell don't trust the gov't..period!! Mom/Pop...tell them NO deal...wait awhile, see how it shakes out...
wb

[Ghost in the Machine]

38. Perry tied to Merck

Perry has 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.

The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/wid/11915773?GT1=9033

[seabeyond]

39. to push the dont trust govt. wasn't something passed recently no suits against drug co.

if something were to happen due to vaccinations?

and here we are being forced to give our children a vaccination with limited info and research on possible side effects giving parents no repercussions to pharmaceuticals if there is a problem with this drug

how does this inspire confidence in govt or co. in regards to our children's health

[mhatrw]

40. The Facts About GARDASIL

1) GARDASIL is a vaccine for 4 strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), two strains that are strongly associated (and probably cause) genital warts and two strains that are typically associated (and may cause) cervical cancer. About 90% of people with genital warts show exposure to one of the two HPV strains strongly suspected to cause genital warts. About 70% of women with cervical cancer show exposure to one of the other two HPV strains that the vaccine is designed to confer resistance to.

2) HPV is a sexually communicable (not an infectious) virus. When you consider all strains of HPV, over 70% of sexually active males and females have been exposed. A condom helps a lot (70% less likely to get it), but has not been shown to stop transmission in all cases (only one study of 82 college girls who self-reported about condom use has been done). For the vast majority of women, exposure to HPV strains (even the four “bad ones” protected for in GARDASIL) results in no known health complications of any kind.

3) Cervical cancer is not a deadly nor prevalent cancer in the US or any other first world nation. Cervical cancer rates have declined sharply over the last 30 years and are still declining. Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1% of of all female cancer cases and deaths in the US. Cervical cancer is typically very treatable and the prognosis for a healthy outcome is good. The typical exceptions to this case are old women, women who are already unhealthy and women who don’t get pap smears until after the cancer has existed for many years.

4) Merck’s clinical studies for GARDASIL were problematic in several ways. Only 20,541 women were used (half got the “placebo”) and their health was followed up for only four years at maximum and typically 1-3 years only. More critically, only 1,121 of these subjects were less than 16. The younger subjects were only followed up for a maximum of 18 months. Furthermore, less than 10% of these subjects received true placebo injections. The others were given injections containing an aluminum salt adjuvant (vaccine enhancer) that is also a component of GARDASIL. This is scientifically preposterous, especially when you consider that similar alum adjuvants are suspected to be responsible for Gulf War disease and other possible vaccination related complications.

5) Both the “placebo” groups and the vaccination groups reported a myriad of short term and medium term health problems over the course of their evaluations. The majority of both groups reported minor health complications near the injection site or near the time of the injection. Among the vaccination group, reports of such complications were slightly higher. The small sample that was given a real placebo reported far fewer complications — as in less than half. Furthermore, most if not all longer term complications were written off as not being potentially vaccine caused for all subjects.

6) Because the pool of test subjects was so small and the rates of cervical cancer are so low, NOT A SINGLE CONTROL SUBJECT ACTUALLY CONTRACTED CERVICAL CANCER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM — MUCH LESS DIED OF IT. Instead, this vaccine’s supposed efficacy is based on the fact that the vaccinated group ended up with far fewer cases (5 vs. about 200) of genital warts and “precancerous lesions” (dysplasias) than the alum injected “control” subjects.

7) Because the tests included just four years of follow up at most, the long term effects and efficacy of this vaccine are completely unknown for anyone. All but the shortest term effects are completely unknown for little girls. Considering the tiny size of youngster study, the data about the shortest terms side effects for girls are also dubious.

8) GARDASIL is the most expensive vaccine ever marketed. It requires three vaccinations at $120 a pop for a total price tag of $360. It is expected to be Merck’s biggest cash cow of this and the next decade.

These are simply the facts of the situation as presented by Merck and the FDA.