[PROVE] Vaccine proposal likely to stir debate

[Guest guest]

(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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This information is not to be construed as medical OR legal advice.

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