Texas Mandates HPV Vaccine
10 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // February 2nd, 2007 // 5:32 pm
The state’s Republican governor bypassed the legislature and signed an order making Texas the first state to require school-age girls to be vaccinated with Gardasil. The move comes just a couple of days after a Maryland legislator yanked a bill to mandate the vaccine. A report noted she belongs to a group called Women In Government that is funded by Merck, which makes Gardasil.
In fact, the Texan, Richard Perry, has reportedly has some connections of his own. One of Merck’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, state legislator Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government. The Associated Press also reports that Perry received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.
Keeping track of the vaccine’s progress across the country will require more than a scoreboard - a calculator will be needed to add up all those contributions.[tags]Gardasil, HPV, Merck, Women in Government[/tags]
Laurie
Once again…the public is the long term study for a new vaccine…except this time it’s little girls. The money trail on this one is beyond atrocious! Merck isn’t even attempting to cover it up…which begs the question, just how much is being paid that we don’t know about. The selling of little girls health…how sad that pharma has stooped to this. Lets hope that parents are smarter than this.
Melody
Let’s see: executive order (wonder where he learned this?); ties to Merck & “Astroturf” grass-roots support; Christian conservative willing to use our young girls as guinea pigs for post-marketing study of vaccine.
Until the public becomes aware of the cost/benefit ratio, the NNT provides a realistic measure of how well-spent our tax dollars are. There are numerous strains of HPV—Gardasil treats ONLY four. MOST HPV infections do NOT develop into cervical cancer. So, we’re treating masses to save a very few. (I don’t contend that those few aren’t worth saving, but there HAS to be a better way.) The “best” outcome here is that Gardasil will make lots of money for Merck and sales reps–and possibly prevent a FEW cases of cervical cancer. Also, Gov. Perry and his “friends” will probably benefit, too. If/when government decides to investigate the cost/benefit ratio, there will be an outcry of “waste of taxpayer dollars.” (By then, though, Gov. Perry will have moved on—hopefully not to the WH or Congress, as will his current cronies.)
On the other hand, we all know NO ONE completes Phase IV (post-marketing) studies; and the FDA’s adverse events reporting system is so convoluted that red flags won’t appear until we start counting bodies or other serious harmful outcomes. Still, it is now MANDATED in Texas that 11-12-year-old girls WILL serve as Merck’s Phase IV guinea pigs—and Merck will reap $360 for each guinea pig receiving treatment!
The FDA managed to “protect” Americans from the horrors of thalidomide (several decades ago); they also managed to prevent Lilly from marketing its dangerous Oraflex (more than a decade ago). But since then, they have served to fast track new drugs & shunned their oversight responsibilities. We get quick approval of drugs that are only marginally beneficial, that cost the taxpayer (who has probably also contributed mightily to development costs); and after the groundswell of profit-realization subsides, we will either have an empty promise unfulfilled or worse, must fight to get a dangerous product off the market. Sounds like a win-win-win for Pharma and its enablers.
I resent the government mandating anything that I may or may not choose to put into my body. I think many mothers would also wish to participate in such decisions for their daughters.
Laurie
Funding sources for Women in Government:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php…_in_Government
2 Red Hens
3M Pharmaceuticals
Abbott
Adeza Biomedical
AEP-SWEPCO
Allergan, Inc.
Altria Corporate Services, Inc.
Alzheimer’s Association
American Diabetes Association
Amgen
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont
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Bose Treacy Associates
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
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Catalis
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CVS/pharmacy
DaimlerChrysler
Digene Corporation
Digital Healthcare, Inc.
Discovery Health Channel
Duke Energy
Edison Electric Institute
Electronic Data Systems
Eli Lilly and Company
Entergy Arkansas
ExxonMobil
GlaxoSmithKline
Highland Campus Health Group
Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc.
Ice Miller LLP
Indiana Health Care Association
Indiana Ophthalmology Association
Indiana State Chiropractic Association
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Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives
Insight Communications
Johnson & Johnson
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Lumina Foundation for Education
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McDonald’s
Merck & Company, Inc.
Michigan Association of Health Plans
Mullenix & Associates
National Hemophilia Foundation
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Novartis Pharmaceuticals
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Ohio Hospital Association
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Pfizer, Inc.
PhRMA
Procter & Gamble
Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC
Sanofi Aventis
Schering-Plough Corporation
Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
State Farm Insurance
Third Wave Technologies, Inc.
Verizon Communications
Wal-Mart
Ward Health Strategies
WellPoint, Inc.
Wholesale Beer Distributors of Arkansas, Inc.
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