In the face of a growing parental backlash and amid new reports of adverse reactions to the new HPV vaccine, in a dramatic turnaround, the drug giant Merck has announced it will halt a coordinated multi-state lobbying push to have the HPV vaccine mandated for 11-12 year old girls. The vaccine requires three doses and is very expensive at a cost of about $400. The HPV vaccine campaign has been dubbed “Help Pay for Vioxx” by critics alarmed at the heavy hand of Merck in the push to mandate the vaccine across the country.Like so much government regulation, this was corporate welfare, disguised, in this case, as disease prevention. Apparently though, mandating an unproven vaccine for a disease which can't be spread by casual contact was a little too much for even the normally docile, gullible American public.
The quiet lobbying campaign hit the headlines when Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued an unprecedented executive order requiring all Texas girls entering the sixth grade the vaccine Gardasil by 2008. The order has resulted in a backlash from parents and legislators.
About 20 states are considering measures to mandate that girls have the vaccine to attend school, but none has passed so far.
The change by Merck comes as a new report of dangerous reactions to the vaccine was released by the National Vaccine Information Center. The report details several types of reported reactions. According to the report, adverse reactions are growing with 385 adverse event reports made for the vaccine with two-thirds of those having a reaction requiring additional medical care. The reports are most likely the tip of the ice berg because reporting adverse vaccine reactions is voluntary. Studies have estimated that as few as 1-in-10 adverse vaccine reactions are actually reported.
Read more
By the way, authoritarian Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is also pushing the NAFTA Superhighway which will run through his state, is announcing is support today for, who else, Rudy Giuliani.
No comments:
Post a Comment