RE: [PROVE] Vaccine proposal likely to stir debate

[Guest guest]

I know a grown woman who takes aloe vera (Cherry Berry - sold at Whole

Foods) and proclaims it is a cure for her human papilloma virus. Sorry if I

have mis spelt.

I know that is not the issue at stake here but I thought I would toss this

info out inasmuch as aloe vera might be effective for more types of herpes

viruses.

We are going to try it.

Jack has elevated HHV-6 antibody levels.

Cornelia

[PROVE] Vaccine proposal likely to stir

debate

(Sorry if this is a duplicate - we had a little trouble getting this out -

but it is worth the read!)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4459579.html

Jan. 10, 2007, 8:28AM

Vaccine proposal likely to stir debate

Cost, rights are key issues in plan requiring girls to get shot for virus

spread by sex

By TODD ACKERMAN

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

A plan requiring sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually

transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer can expect a flurry of

opposition in the Texas Legislature.

Critics contend that bills already filed in both houses would take away

parents' rights, send the wrong message to impressionable young girls and

cost more than many parents can afford.

" Don't we put seat belts on our kids, helmets on bike riders? " asked state

Sen. Van De Putte, D-San , sponsor of the Senate bill. " This

is one more thing we can do to protect our daughters. "

State Rep. Farrar, D-Houston, the sponsor of the bill in the House

of Representatives, said she is hopeful about its chances but not quite

optimistic. She said " ideology has prevailed over science " lately.

The bills would require girls to have received the vaccine to enter the

sixth grade, but include opt-out provisions.

The vaccine, known under the trade name Gardasil, was approved by the Food

and Drug Administration in June, and a Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention advisory committee soon after it was recommended that girls and

women 11 to 26 receive it.

The vaccine targets the human papillomavirus, the most common sexually

transmitted infection in the country and the cause of nearly all cervical

cancers.

Though the infection often clears up on its own, it leads to about 10,000

U.S. cases of cervical cancer a year and 3,700 deaths.

Wrestling with mandate

Texas could become the first state to mandate the vaccination. Last month, a

bill died in Michigan's legislature, largely over questions about why

government should be involved with the delivery of the HPV vaccine.

Two other states - California and Kentucky - also are considering bills to

make the vaccine mandatory, and legislatures in some other states are

expected to consider the matter when they convene.

Even CDC spokesman Curtis acknowledged that mandatory vaccination

against HPV isn't " as straightforward as it would be against measles or

whooping cough because it's not as contagious. "

He says requiring the parents of girls to pay for the vaccine, but not the

parents of boys, poses gender-equity issues.

The drug is expensive - Merck lists the three doses at $120 apiece, but a

quick survey of Houston providers found it typically sells for $150 to $200

a shot.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, many private insurers are

not offering coverage of the shots. In addition, an estimated one-quarter of

Texans do not have health insurance.

Advocates for mandatory testing argue that it's only a matter of time before

individuals' health insurance covers the vaccine and that a state law will

expedite the process. They also note that a federal vaccine-for-children

program is expected to provide the shots for low-income families for free or

nearly free.

Local opinions

A few Houstonians interviewed about the legislation Tuesday were supportive

of the idea.

" I'm all for anything we can do to help prevent cancer, " said Clites,

a Houston homemaker with a daughter in graduate school and a 24-year-old son

recently diagnosed with colon cancer. " It's going to require an effort on

the part of parents to educate their children when they get the vaccine. But

if my daughter were entering sixth grade now, I think I'd have her

vaccinated, even if it wasn't required. "

But Susie , a retired Conroe resident, said she's sympathetic to the

argument that the shot could give young girls implicit permission to have

sex.

" I'm old enough to remember when the Pill was introduced, " said.

" People raised the issue that it would cause promiscuity and advocates

denied it, but promiscuity definitely followed. "

, who added that she thinks there are bigger problems with the health

care system to fix, nevertheless said she is leaning toward supporting the

legislation.

One thing that seems clear is that without legislation mandating the

vaccine, not that many girls figure to line up for the shots.

Dr. Tyring, a University of Texas Medical School at Houston

professor and investigator in the study that found Gardasil prevents cancer,

said that before the chicken pox vaccine was made mandatory, about 10

percent of eligible Texas children got the shot. Since the law went into

effect, 90 percent get it.

A local Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said demand for the vaccine at its

clinics has come more from women in college and their 20s than from parents

seeking it for their pre-teen daughters.

Effectiveness questioned

The president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a Texas

organization whose lobbying led to state law allowing parents to sign a

waiver to opt out of receiving a required vaccine, argued there are still

too many unknowns to require the HPV vaccine.

" There's no proof this vaccine will protect women from cancer, given how

short a time women in the study were followed and the lengthy incubation

time the HPV virus requires, " said group co-founder Dawn . " By

mandating the vaccine, the Texas Legislature would be sending the message

that being vaccinated against an STD is more important than receiving

education. "

Van De Putte says there are 162,000 sixth-grade girls in Texas who would be

eligible for the shot.

todd.ackerman@...

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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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