[PROVE] CDC Doctor Opposes Law for Vaccine

[Guest guest]

Dear PROVE Members,

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sent out an HTML version earlier today entitled " [PROVE] HPV Vaccine: Betting on

a Mercky Record. " Please check to make sure you received it and if not, check

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This article below points out that even the head of the CDC committee that

recommended HPV vaccination says HPV vaccines should not be mandated - maybe not

for all of the same reasons we do, but nonetheless, there is agreement on this.

When Dr. Abramson was chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on

Infectious Diseases, Barbara Loe Fisher of NVIC and I attended a conference with

him in 2002 called " Exploring Public Engagement Within the United States

Immunization Program. " We had personal conversations with him warning that a

vaccination system that is inflexible will ultimately break. The CDC is

witnessing that playing out in the state legislatures across the country right

now as angry parents are trying to claim back their rights to be in charge of

the medical decisions being made for their children - no parent wants their

child to be a guinea pig - not even in the fight against cancer. - DR]

http://washingtontimes.com/business/20070226-115014-2031r.htm

CDC doctor opposes law for vaccine

By Lopes

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published February 27, 2007

The chairman of the federal panel that recommended the new cervical-cancer

vaccine for pre-teen girls says lawmakers should not make the inoculation

mandatory, as the District and more than 20 states, including Virginia, are

considering.

Dr. Jon Abramson, chairman of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention's advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), also said he

and panel members told Merck & Co., the drug Gardasil's maker, not to lobby

state lawmakers to require the vaccine for school attendance.

" I told Merck my personal opinion that it shouldn't be mandated, " Dr.

Abramson told The Washington Times. " And they heard it from other committee

members. "

Dr. Abramson said he opposes mandating Gardasil, which prevents the

cervical-cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV), because the sexually

transmitted HPV is not a contagious disease like measles and he is not sure

states can afford to inoculate all students.

" The vaccines out there now are for very communicable diseases. A child in

school is not at an increased risk for HPV like he is measles, " Dr. Abramson

said.

In addition, Dr. Abramson said a discussion about making the vaccine

mandatory should not be had until states show the money is available to

vaccinate every child, adding, " I don't see that yet. "

Taken in a series of three shots at $120 each, Gardasil is the most

expensive vaccine on the market. About 45 percent of children would be eligible

for free vaccines from the federal Vaccinations for Children program, while the

other 55 percent would depend on the state programs and insurance companies.

The ACIP, a 15-member panel charged with developing vaccine schedules and

dosages, recommended Gardasil for 11- and 12-year-olds in July, spurring Merck's

lobbying efforts and the legislative push to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for

sixth-grade girls.

Merck suspended its lobbying efforts last week amid criticism from parents,

who said it would interfere with control over their children, and from

conservative groups that said it would encourage premarital sex.

Merck responded yesterday to Dr. Abramson's comments with a statement it had

made previously.

" We have had ongoing discussions with a number of key public health experts

and listened to their thoughts regarding the timing for school requirements of

the HPV vaccine. We do not want any misperception about Merck's role to distract

from the ultimate goal of fighting cervical cancer, so Merck has re-evaluated

its approach at the state level and we will not lobby for school requirements

for Gardasil. "

Gardasil is nearly 100 percent effective against two strains of HPV that

lead to 70 percent of cervical cancer cases in the United States. Nearly 11,000

cervical-cancer cases occur in the U.S. each year, killing more than 3,700,

according to the American Cancer Society.

But cancer data show that lawmakers looking to force pre-teen girls to take

Gardasil, the lone vaccine on the market, are targeting the wrong age group.

Middle-school girls inoculated with the breakthrough vaccine will be no

older than 18 when they pass Gardasil's five-year window of proven effectiveness

-- more than a decade before the typical cancer patient contracts HPV, The

Washington Times reported last week.

Infectious disease specialists and cancer pathologists say the incubation

period for HPV becoming cancer is 10 to 15 years -- meaning the average cervical

cancer patient, who is 47, contracted the virus in her 30s and would not be

protected by Gardasil taken as a teen.

Dr. Abramson said the panel thinks the vaccine will last for at least 10

years. Even if it provides 10 years of protection, it would still leave girls

given the inoculation in the sixth grade vulnerable during their late 20s and

early 30s, when most cervical-cancer patients contract HPV. At that point,

another round of Gardasil would be necessary.

Merck is still studying Gardasil's longevity and the potential for a booster

shot.

ACIP is the only entity in the federal government to issue immunization

recommendations and does not recommend a vaccine be made mandatory; those

decisions are left to the states. But the committee's recommendation on the use

of a vaccine often plays the lead role in whether states will act to make it

part of their mandatory vaccine list, said Barbara Fisher, president of the

National Vaccine Information Center, which is opposed to laws making Gardasil

mandatory.

" They are the signal for states to act, " she said. " The committee knows that

and I think they see people getting upset about it. "

Earlier this month, Texas became the first state to enact an HPV vaccine law

when Gov. Rick bypassed the state Legislature and signed an executive

order mandating all girls entering sixth grade be inoculated.

Mr. , who drew fire when it was revealed that his former chief of

staff, Mike Toomey, lobbies for Merck, said his order is based on the CDC

recommendation.

The Virginia General Assembly last week approved legislation that would

require that girls receive the Gardasil before entering sixth grade starting

Oct. 1, 2008. The legislation allows parents to opt not to have their daughters

vaccinated.

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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

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informed independent vaccination decisions for themselves and their family.

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