[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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