[PROVE] Drugmaker wants law to require STD shot

[Guest guest]

[Dear PROVE Members,

Merck's financial ties to pushing the HPV mandate in Texas and across the

country are shown in this excellent article that has been published and

forwarded all around the United States tonight. It also went out on MSNBC

and they have a poll about whether or not you think the vaccine should be

mandated. Please go and vote at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16892278/.

Understand that vaccine mandates in Texas automatically trigger an

insurance mandate for coverage so we all pay through higher premiums

whether we want the vaccine or not. We all pay federal taxes to cover the

cost of the HPV vaccine through the Vaccine for Children Program - with all

that money flowing straight back to Merck. Don't forget that now that ACIP

has added HPV to the CHILDHOOD vaccine schedule, MERCK IS PROTECTED FROM

LIABILITY for the harm this vaccine may cause. Industry analysts project

that HPV mandates across the US could mean in excess of $4 billion dollars

to Merck a year in sales which is not too shabby for a company currently

plagued by lawsuits for withholding critical safety information to doctors

and patients about their popular painkiller drug Vioxx!

Get ready for the showdown across the country where parents are sick and

tired of being told they are forced to shoot their kids up one more time.

The vaccine is available to anybody who wants it - there is no need to

force it. Understanding what efforts are being put forth by the vaccine

manufacturer to force this on our children, it is imperative that you

continue to voice your concerns to your state senators and representatives

no matter what state you live in. Opt-out provisions are useless in so

many instances in Texas and other states that if these bills pass, many

will be forced to take the shot. It will take a lot to counter a push from

a company who stands to make billions on forced vaccination.]

Jan. 30, 2007, 10:00PM

Merck lobbies states over cancer vaccine

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4513028.html

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON Associated Press Writer

© 2007 The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — Merck & Co. is helping bankroll efforts to pass state laws

requiring girls as young as 11 or 12 to receive the drugmaker's new vaccine

against the sexually transmitted cervical-cancer virus.

Some conservatives and parents'-rights groups say such a requirement would

encourage premarital sex and interfere with the way they raise their

children, and they say Merck's push for such laws is underhanded. But the

company said its lobbying efforts have been above-board.

With at least 18 states debating whether to require Merck's Gardasil

vaccine for schoolgirls, Merck has funneled money through Women in

Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around

the country.

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.

" Cervical cancer is of particular interest to our members because it

represents the first opportunity that we have to actually eliminate a

cancer, " Women in Government President Crosby said.

Gardasil, approved by the federal government in June, protects girls and

women against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are

responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. A government advisory panel

has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are

likely to be sexually active.

But no state has yet to add Gardasil to the list of vaccinations youngsters

must have under law to be enrolled in school.

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.

Crosby also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.

But Skidmore said: " We disclosed the fact that we provide funding to this

organization. We're not in any way trying to obscure that. "

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.

Cathie , president of the conservative watchdog group Texas Eagle

Forum, said the relationship between Merck and Women in Government is too

cozy.

" What it does is benefit the pharmaceutical companies, and I don't want

pharmaceutical companies taking precedence over the authorities of

parents, " she said.

said Merck's method of lobbying quietly through groups like Women in

Government in addition to meeting directly with legislators are common in

state government but still should raise eyebrows. " It's corrupt as far as

I'm concerned, " she said.

A mandatory vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease could be a tough

sell in the Lone Star State and other conservative strongholds, where

schools preach abstinence and parents' rights are sacrosanct.

But Merck has doubled its spending on lobbyists in Texas this year, to

between $150,000 and $250,000, as lawmakers consider the vaccine bill for

girls entering the sixth grade.

Also, the drugmaker has hired one of the state's most powerful lobbyists,

Mike Toomey, who once served as Republican Gov. Rick 's chief of staff

and can influence conservatives who see him as one of their own.

" What we support are approaches that achieve high immunization rates, " said

Skidmore, the Merck spokeswoman. " We're talking about cervical cancer here,

the second-leading cancer among women worldwide. "

The legislation already has the enthusiastic support of the conservative

governor.

" I look at this no different than vaccinating our children for polio, "

said. " 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. "

Proposals for mandates have popped up from California to Connecticut since

the first piece of legislation was introduced in September in Michigan.

Michigan's bill was narrowly defeated last month. Lawmakers said the

requirement would intrude on families' privacy, even though, as in most

states' proposals, parents could opt out.

Even with such opt-out provisions, mandates take away parents' rights to

make medical decisions for their children, said Klepacki of the

Colorado-based evangelical organization Focus on the Family. The group

contends the vaccine should be available for parents who want it, but not

forced on those who don't.

But Texas Rep. Farrar said her proposal is aimed at protecting

children whose parents are less informed about or less interested in

preventive care.

" Not everybody has equal sets of parents, " said Farrar, a Houston Democrat

who had precancerous cells removed from her cervix several years ago. " I

think this is a public health issue and to not want to eradicate cervical

cancer is irresponsible. "

Drug-industry analyst Steve Brozak of W.B.B. Securities has projected

Gardasil sales of at least $1 billion per year — and billions more if

states start requiring the vaccine. " I could not think of a bigger boost, "

he said.

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Dawn

PROVE(Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education)

prove@... (email)

http://vaccineinfo.net/ (web site)

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PROVE provides information on vaccines, and immunization policies and

practices that affect the children and adults of Texas. Our mission is to

prevent vaccine injury and death and to promote and protect the right of

every person to make informed independent vaccination decisions for

themselves and their family.

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Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

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