US state to require girls to be vaccinated against STD virus

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Discussion here:

 

http://tinyurl.com/yrlvu2

 

Texas Governor Orders Vaccine for Girls

 

By Liz Austin Peterson, Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

The Houston Chronicle

Friday, February 2, 2007

 

Austin, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry signed an order Friday

making Texas the first state to require that

schoolgirls be vaccinated against the sexually

transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

 

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.

 

Girls will have to get Gardasail, Merck & Co.'s new

vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus,

or HPV. But further details of the order were not

immediately released.

 

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.

 

" If there are diseases in our society that are going

to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good

economic sense, not to mention the health and

well-being of these individuals to have those vaccines

available, " he 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 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.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4521924.html

 

 

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi

Om Shanti

 

 

 

 

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