Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school age ...

MSJ

Cathlete
This is relating to the other thread where we discussed Merk's lobbying to make this vaccine mandatory. Well, it has happened. I hope this link works. If not, just google "texas governor mandates vaccine" and you'll find it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/.

I'm opposed to mandatory vaccinations, especially when those vaccinations have not been around long enough for us to know the long term side effects. I guess we'll know sooner or later whether this is a good thing or not.

JMHO

Maggie:)
 
Thanks for the info Maggie.

Haven't talked to you in ages...how are you doing? I miss our prego checkin!! Blessings.

Briee
 
As A TEXAN I can tell you that in my segment of the big state we are outraged.... Just taking another step to telling women what they can & cant do with their bodies... It is a disgrace to me & if I were a mother I would indeed go to jail to buck this one. Keeping it all in perspective however Gov Perry is known to be supported heavily by pharmaceutical companys... He is also just about one of the most dis honest politicians known to man-kind. This of course is MY OPINION so others are free to disagree. ;-) :7
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

In the early 1900s my great grandmother lost her entire family and many friends (as evident by the number of wreaths hung on the neighborhood doors) to a widespread diphtheria epidemic. Without a doubt, if she could speak today I am sure she would have wished a mandatory vaccine was available back then.....her brothers, sisters and friends never would have died.

I have a friend who had contracted HPV through her first sexual encounter in college (and no she was in no way promiscuous) with "a nice young man." She is now at risk...and she lives in fear. She wishes that vaccine was discovered and mandatory 25 years ago.

Interesting topic for thought......
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

I also wish this vaccine was around when I was young. I contracted HPV through my ex husband :-( I don't live in fear but it has caused me some grief as you could imagine!

I think there is still a lot of denial in this world. HPV is a major issue among women and children are having sex in their early teens. If contracted at an early age, this disease can certainly be detrimental to a girl for the rest of her life ;(
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

Vaccines in general scare me a bit. Have not had them since i was a baby, i am never sick or ill. There is a lot of studies being done on certain vaccines and the connection to the rise of autisum in children. This vaccine is new and has not been around long enough to study the long term effects. Forcing young women to take a vaccine that not much is known about is a little to right wing for me. Glad i live in Canada now! Can HPV be prevented by the use of condoms? Can a partner be tested for HPV before deciding not to use condoms? Education seems to be the key here and not a manditory vaccine. What is next???
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

>>There is a lot of studies being done on certain vaccines and the connection to the rise of autisum in children.

These studies have largely been debunked. My DH is a pediatrician (and NO, he does not profit from the big pharmaceutical companies), and he says the current literature has pretty much dismissed these studies. No one really knows why there SEEMS to be a rise in autism, but it could be that they're simply doing a better job of diagnosing it.
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

Ah, education is a wonderful thing but what of cheating husbands taking this disease home to their wives? And, what of hormones out of control in teenagers? And what of the poorer communities where education is not as important as day to day survival?

If education and condoms worked, STDs and AIDS would be nearing extinction, but they are not!
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

From what I understand HPV cannot be prevented by using condoms - there is no protection from it. Sadly, a woman I knew of in college has since died from cervical cancer (at the age of 27) that was a result of HPV. There's also no test that accurately identifies HPV in men - so women have no protection from it except with the vaccine that I am aware of.

Annie
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

>If education and condoms worked, STDs and AIDS would be
>nearing extinction, but they are not!
>

This much is for sure, condoms absolutely will NOT protect anyone from HPV. I never cease to be amazed by the vast number of people who do not appear to know this.

Edited to correct typos:eek:
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

I issue is not that the vaccine is not effective or needed, it is the mandate that is troubling. I read on MSNBC that the Gov. of Texas has strong ties to the pharmaceudical company. The vaccine may turn out to be a wonderful thing and I may CHOOSE myself whether or not I have my daughters vaccinated.

Cheryl
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

Cheryl,

Well, choices are great but sometimes choices affect more than just one person. I belive choosing to wear a seatbelt is more of a personal choice than contracting and spreading a virus, but wearing seatbelts are also mandatory.

Where would we be if being vaccinated against polio or small pox were a choice?

JMHO :)

P.S. Michele, thank you for the education because I, for one, did not know that HPV could not be prevented by condom use and I consider myself educated :)
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

brigitterenee -- Condoms don't always work. HPV is passed from skin to skin contact (genital). You don't always have to have actual intercourse or penetration to get HPV (if what I've read is correct) Also, as far as I know the test for HPV is for women only. There is no test for men. HPV in addition to cerival cancer, is what also causes genital warts.

I guess I can understand some reluctance for taking a new vaccine, but what is the difference from taking this vaccine than the vaccines that kids are required to take at birth? Is it becuase of the sexual origins of the disease?

Well a lot of people probably have HPV now and don't even know it, because you don't always have physical symptoms. And for women, the only wy to know for sure is if if you are getting your yearly PAPs.

Even though HPV doesn't cause cervical cancer in ALL cases, and cerival cancer is treatable if caught early, why not prevent it from occuring at all if you can?
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

I think statistics will say that 80% of women have HPV and some will never know it. As mentioned before, condoms will not prevent this from happening. I think just because this is a 'sexual' virus, people feel that its cruel to make people take this sort of vaccine; however, if someone said the vaccine was to prevent all forms of cancer and it was mandatory - everyone would be cheering.

Sorry to sound harsh - but you certainly cannot trust your partner to NOT have this - - as mentioned before, cheating does occur unfortunately and condoms may not prevent this from happening, as they don't even prevent all pregnancies - they may help, but are not foolproof.
 
If vaccines were not mandated, I think the people who needed them the most would not get them. It would miss the poorer population who would not get the vaccines. They get them because they are mandated for their children to go to school. Without vaccines, there would still be deadly diseases killing our children.

And yes, my daughter will be getting this vaccine.
 
Also wanted to add . . .why does it make a difference if Governer has ties to the pharmaceutical company? Does that make the vaccine less effective? I'm sure Texas is not the only state that is considering making the vaccine manadatory.

I realize that the company will make money off this, but that's the American way. . . wouldn't expect anything less.
 
To keep things in perspective:

From the American Cancer Society website:

In 2007, an estimated 11,155 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3,670 will die from it. Over 170,000 will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

From the Dept. of Transportation: In 2005, 39,189 people were killed in vehicle accidents.

Just something to think about.

Marina
 
Marina,

Thanks for the info but because I have the virus, personally, it doesn't mean a thing to me :) So, I guess perspective comes in all shapes and sizes :)

Also, these statistics are only of women who have cervical cancer. Here are the statistics for HPV.

Number of people infected with HPV each year = 5.5 million
Number of people currently infected = 20 million

Therefore, currently there are 20 million infected with the HPV virus, and over 5 million diagnosed each year. How many of them will be diagnosed with cancer in the future?

And, how many of those traffic deaths could have been prevented with seatbelt usage? Seatbelts do not prevent all traffic deaths.

I guess I don't see a direct correlation.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/mfrisby/statistics.htm
 
RE: Texas governor mandates STD vaccine for all school ...

Well, everyone--thanks for the interesting and respectful discussion despite our differing opinions.

If this vaccine does not cause undue negative side effects, then it will be another good vaccine to add to the list. My problem is that it has not been around long enough for us to know what the side effects may be and whether or not we think that those side effects are worth the risk.


I am still troubled by the mandatory aspect. Should the government mandate that all girls 11 and over be injected with depo prevara to prevent teen-age pregnancy?

As far as seatbelts are concerned--Wearing a seat belt (or bike helmet or car seats for the little ones)--those things don't involve injecting the body with a substance that has not been around for a very long time to prevent a disease that in most cases could be prevented by other means.

I wish I could respond to everyone on this. Even those who disagree with me--you give me food for thought and it helps me sharpen my position.

thanks
Maggie :)
 

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