Dr. Mercola February 02 2007 8,730 views
Unfortunately, Texas isn't the only state considering making the needless Merck human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil a requirement for young teenage women, according to news reports.
Merck, maker of the notorious Vioxx, has been throwing money around the country through Women in Government, a lobbying group targeting female state legislators. The latest goal: Pushing the passage of HPV requirements in at least 18 states.
Although Merck openly admits its lobbying ties with Women in Government, the mega-drugmaker won't say how much money they're funneling through the non-profit, but here's a possible measuring stick: With Merck doubling its spending on lobbying, just in Texas, to some $250,000, multiply that by 18 and you'll get almost $5 million.
Spending $5 million (or some $12.5 million if you're considering the whole country) is mere chump change compared to the $1 BILLION Merck could earn annually from Gardasil, says one drug industry analyst.
Just a reminder, more than 6 million women contract HPV annually, but a woman's immune system is often strong enough to clear up this infection on its own and it's virtually 100 percent avoidable without a vaccine.
By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer
Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents' rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.
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