Athena
February 25th, 2008, 06:53 PM
Texas governor orders STD vaccine for all girls
Decision comes after maker of cervical cancer shot doubled lobbying efforts
updated 10:00 a.m. PT, Sat., Feb. 3, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
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.
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 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.
The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.
Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.
“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”
Opt-out option for parents
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.
Source (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/)
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My issues with mandating Gardasil in Texas:
1.) The Texas State Constitution does allow, as mentioned, the Governor to mandate things without the approval of the Legislature. Unfortunately, this does create the potential for shady dealings. Perry's ties to Women in Government and Merck and WIG's ties Merck do not substantiate any claims of corrpution. However, we should be vigilant whenever an elected official is mandating things that stand to directly and positively affect a private corporation's bottom line.
2.) Mandating this drug presents a potentially substantial increase in taxpayer burden. Voters were not given the option to adopt said burden, despite the fact that they will be responsible for it. As mentioned, this vaccine costs $360 and will be provided by the state to those who are uninsured, have insurance that does not cover the vaccine, and to women 19-21 who are eligible for Medicaid.
3.) The article claims that Perry has compared the HPV vaccine to that of Polio. Seriously??? Nevermind the fact that, realistically, HPV can only be contracted through unprotected sex, whereas Polio can be contracted through contaminated food or water - Gardasil only protects against 4 of the handful of HPV strains associated with cervical cancer and genital warts (http://www.gardasil.com/). In other words, Gardasil only protects against the two strains responsible for 70% of HPV-related cervical cancers, whereas the full course of the Polio vaccine immunises against Polio 100% (in 95-99% of cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_vaccine#Efficacy)). Long story short: The Polio vaccine has practically eradicated Polio from the earth. Gardasil will not eradicate HPV, nor will it eradicate cervical cancer.
This vaccine is not like most vaccines that target diseases that are easily and innocently contageous. HPV is an STD, communicated via irresponsible behavior (generally). It's not like a kid comes down with a case of HPV and suddenly there's an epidemic, which is why we employ other vaccines. Is Gardasil a good thing? Certainly. But there's no justification to mandate such a vaccine, as it's method of communication does not pose a public health concern to those who are living responsibly, but are now being forced to get the vaccine anyway.
Decision comes after maker of cervical cancer shot doubled lobbying efforts
updated 10:00 a.m. PT, Sat., Feb. 3, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
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.
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 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.
The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.
Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.
“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”
Opt-out option for parents
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.
Source (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/)
-----------
My issues with mandating Gardasil in Texas:
1.) The Texas State Constitution does allow, as mentioned, the Governor to mandate things without the approval of the Legislature. Unfortunately, this does create the potential for shady dealings. Perry's ties to Women in Government and Merck and WIG's ties Merck do not substantiate any claims of corrpution. However, we should be vigilant whenever an elected official is mandating things that stand to directly and positively affect a private corporation's bottom line.
2.) Mandating this drug presents a potentially substantial increase in taxpayer burden. Voters were not given the option to adopt said burden, despite the fact that they will be responsible for it. As mentioned, this vaccine costs $360 and will be provided by the state to those who are uninsured, have insurance that does not cover the vaccine, and to women 19-21 who are eligible for Medicaid.
3.) The article claims that Perry has compared the HPV vaccine to that of Polio. Seriously??? Nevermind the fact that, realistically, HPV can only be contracted through unprotected sex, whereas Polio can be contracted through contaminated food or water - Gardasil only protects against 4 of the handful of HPV strains associated with cervical cancer and genital warts (http://www.gardasil.com/). In other words, Gardasil only protects against the two strains responsible for 70% of HPV-related cervical cancers, whereas the full course of the Polio vaccine immunises against Polio 100% (in 95-99% of cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_vaccine#Efficacy)). Long story short: The Polio vaccine has practically eradicated Polio from the earth. Gardasil will not eradicate HPV, nor will it eradicate cervical cancer.
This vaccine is not like most vaccines that target diseases that are easily and innocently contageous. HPV is an STD, communicated via irresponsible behavior (generally). It's not like a kid comes down with a case of HPV and suddenly there's an epidemic, which is why we employ other vaccines. Is Gardasil a good thing? Certainly. But there's no justification to mandate such a vaccine, as it's method of communication does not pose a public health concern to those who are living responsibly, but are now being forced to get the vaccine anyway.