This is important news, and I am very glad that this program is starting. I hope they also offer it for free to 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th grade girls as well.
—Freckles
UPDATE:
According to Ralph Blumenthal in today’s New York Times,
Under the order, girls and women from 9 to 21 eligible for public assistance could get free shots immediately. The governor’s office said parents could opt out of the school program “for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.”
Governor requires HPV vaccine for sixth-grade girls
Sexually transmitted virus can cause cervical cancer.
Click-2-Listen
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, February 03, 2007 
Gov. Rick Perry on Friday issued an executive order calling for all girls entering sixth grade in Texas, starting in September 2008, to receive a vaccine against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. While Texas parents will be allowed to opt out of having their daughters get the vaccine, conservative groups are protesting.
Texas is the first state requiring girls to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the country’s most common sexually transmitted disease.
Some strains of HPV cause cervical cancer, a disease that killed nearly 400 Texans in 2006, the governor’s office said.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said. “Requiring young girls to get vaccinated before they come into contact with HPV is responsible health and fiscal policy that has the potential to significantly reduce cases of cervical cancer and mitigate future medical costs.”
But Cathie Adams, president of Texas Eagle Forum, a pro-family organization that opposes mandating the vaccine, said it gives girls false hope that sex is safe.
“We’re very unhappy because it’s not a crisis, because parental rights are being usurped and we believe young girls are being experimented upon,” Adams said. “Would they be more promiscuous? Chances are very good that they would be.”
Perry ordered that the vaccine be made immediately available to low-income Texans through the Texas Vaccines for Children and Medicaid programs.
That would cost $50 million in the first year: $29.4 million in state funds and the rest in federal funds, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody.
The market cost of the vaccine, Gardasil, is $360 for the three-dose series.
Federal officials approved the vaccine in June and added it to a list of recommended vaccines for girls. Most insurance companies cover vaccines
on that list.
Merck, the drug company that makes Gardasil, is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating the 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.
Perry received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his
re-election campaign. And one of the drug company’s three lobbyists in
Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff.
“This is not a political issue,” Moody said. “This is an issue of women’s health.” State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, author of a bill proposing a
required HPV vaccine for girls, said Perry’s order is “terrific news.”
“A big chunk of my work is done,” said Farrar, who said she had precancerous cells removed a few years ago after having an abnormal Pap
smear. “I’m very excited he’s made this such a priority. This is going
to save so many lives. This is going to wipe out a cancer.”
Earlier this year, Perry proposed a $3 billion plan that he said he hopes will make Texas a world leader in cancer research.
cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 512-445-3548
Additional material from The Associated Press.
Pros
•The vaccine protects against four types of human papillomavirus, including
two that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers, which killed about
3,700 Americans in 2006.
•The shots also help prevent precancerous genital lesions and genital warts caused by HPV.
•The FDA has said the shots are safe and effective. They have been tested on thousands of girls and young women.
•The vaccine is less expensive than treating cervical cancer.
Cons
•Some conservatives say young girls will be more likely to have sex if they’re vaccinated.
•Critics say the vaccine has not been tested widely enough.
•Some say the mandate interferes with parental rights.
Source for pros: CDC
 |
| Find this article at:http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/legislature/02/03/3hpv.html |
February 3, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Freckles, I’m new to blogging and don’t quite know how to leave you a PM. May I put your link on my blog?
February 3, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Don’t do it Freckles. We have too many insufficiently-tested drugs in this country. I’m sure you know how to take care of yourself without being forced to take a vaccine.
February 4, 2007 at 6:37 am
Strange the Governor gets a few thousand dollars from this. I would opt out since it is a new medicine that is not known to be safe, and since it is trying to be forced on you for personal gain. Look into it more Cassie, I don’t trust this.
February 5, 2007 at 10:35 pm
GARDASIL AND YOU
GARDASIL is for girls and women ages 9 to 26. GARDASIL works when given before you have any contact with HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18.
If you’ve already been infected with HPV, you may still benefit from GARDASIL because it is unlikely that you have been infected with all 4 types of the virus covered by the vaccine. Your doctor or healthcare professional can help you understand more.
WHY SHOULD I GET MY DAUGHTER VACCINATED WITH GARDASIL NOW? CAN’T IT WAIT?
Like other vaccines your daughter has received, GARDASIL works to help prevent illness. GARDASIL works when given before there is any contact with HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18. That’s why it’s important that you talk to your daughter’s doctor or healthcare professional about getting GARDASIL now—not later. You’ll be helping to protect her future from cervical cancer and genital warts before she’s even old enough to worry about them.
GARDASIL IS PART OF YOUR DAUGHTER’S RECOMMENDED VACCINATION SCHEDULE.
Talk to your daughter’s doctor or healthcare professional about getting her vaccinated with GARDASIL.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GARDASIL
HPV Types 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and HPV Types 6 and 11 cause 90% of genital warts cases. GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone and does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it is important to continue regular cervical cancer screenings.
Anyone who is allergic to the ingredients of GARDASIL should not receive the vaccine. GARDASIL is not for women who are pregnant.
GARDASIL will not treat these diseases and will not protect against diseases caused by other types of HPV.
GARDASIL is given as 3 injections over 6 months and can cause pain, swelling, itching, and redness at the injection site, fever, nausea, and dizziness. Only a doctor or healthcare professional can decide if GARDASIL is right for you or your daughter.
February 5, 2007 at 10:35 pm
comes from the Merck page on this vaccine
August 27, 2007 at 11:21 pm
plantar warts
wart removal
January 6, 2008 at 7:47 pm
[...] Progressive, Teen, Texas, health, health care, teen pregnancy, vaccines I wrote about this issue once before. I am very glad that I got the vaccine and I hope that other states will do what Texas has done. [...]
January 6, 2008 at 7:51 pm
[...] I wrote about this issue once before. I am very glad that I got the vaccine and I hope that other states will do what Texas has done. [...]
January 7, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Some facts:
- Governor Perry is not a doctor, and cannot do more than state his opinion about any aspect of medicine;
- Governor Perry has financial ties to the industry that is making this vaccine;
- Gardasil contains aluminum – an additive that we avoid because it can cause brain disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease. What else may be in it?
- HPV can be transmitted skin to skin, as well as sexually;
- The national annual rate of fatal cervical cancer is probably ten per million.
Don’t fall for this.