Crisis Averted…

February 2, 2007 /

 

No need to find out if the world will end or not, because of me having nothing to say.  Shockingly, the source of my inspiration is me wanting to bestow major kudos on a conservative Christian Republican from Texas.  From the A/P:

Governor Rick Perry signed an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer….

Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to get Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

I’m going to ignore Perry’s Merck & Co. connections, and focus on the fact that this is a risk for him with his conservative base, so I think he’s maybe going out on a limb here, to do the right thing. 

There are those that think that giving this vaccine to girls sends the wrong message, that it is promoting promiscuity and pre-marital sex.  Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a teen aged girl saying, “Sorry honey, no-go, I don’t want to get cancer someday”.  No way.  “I don’t want to get pregnant”, or “I am waiting for marriage”, or “STD’s and me do not mix”, but the long term thought of cancer some decades away?  Not so much.  If we can prevent cervical cancer, stop it in its tracks, how can that possibly be a bad thing?

So you go, Governor Perry, and color me impressed!

10 Comments

  • Heidi

    February 2, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    Hmmm… I can definitely see the benefit, but I am totally against anyone forcing a person to take something against their will. An educated parent should make this choice, not the government. I think this is disturbing.

  • J

    February 2, 2007 at 4:14 pm

    Well, kids are required to take a lot of vaccinations, and parents can sign their kids out of this vaccine just the same way that they do for other vaccinations. But if we’re going to require measles, mumps, rubella, and polio, I think this is a good idea as well. Those diseases have been largely erradicated in the U.S., and I would love to see the same thing happen with cervical cancer.

  • Gina

    February 2, 2007 at 7:58 pm

    I think as long as there is an “opt out,” which there is, it should be treated just like any other vaccine. Although, I think it only addresses certain forms of cervical cancer, not all. Unfortunately.

  • Andie D.

    February 3, 2007 at 5:33 am

    Jeeze O Freakin’ Pete!

    Why the hell WOULDN’T anyone vaccinate their daughter against potential CANCER? Do people actually think that the vaccination is a free pass to premarital sex? Like people who are married have never gotten an STD? WTF?

    No way in hell I’d prevent my daughter from getting this vaccine. NO DAMN WAY.

    (Coffee. Need coffee.)

  • curiositykiller

    February 3, 2007 at 8:44 am

    It’s unbelievable how far medical vaccinations have come to. I can only see a little 7-yrs old girl getting her cancer-prevention shots along with her measles.

    I think it’s great that government seized the control of the vaccination and made it available for public. I am concerned as to the side effects, if any. I don’t have any children, but I have a lot of young students – and share these concerns. Thanks for your posts, J. Very, very informative.

  • hellomelissa

    February 3, 2007 at 11:36 pm

    yep, it’s great logic to let our girls suffer with hpv and possibly cancer in the hopes that they won’t be sexually active. smart. i’m taking my kid in as soon as she’s old enough. she doesn’t even need to know what it’s for, for crying out loud!

  • Ml

    February 5, 2007 at 5:35 am

    I read about this, and I think it’s brilliant! What? A vaccine to prevent cancer? And like Hellomelissa, the child won’t even know what they’re having a shot for – it’ll be just like all the others.

  • Cherry

    February 5, 2007 at 3:53 pm

    Some people feel that educating kids about sex and giving them access to condoms is a free pass to have sex too, so of course there will be people who don’t agree. But that is why they have the Opt Out clause so I think it’s a great thing.

    I remember getting my last Rubella shot when I as a teenager and laughing when I had to sign that I wasn’t pregnant and would not become pregnant within whatever number of months. I found that absurd considering my age. Little did I know that I would um… do that thing that adults do by the next summer.

  • ann adams

    February 7, 2007 at 7:30 am

    I read this the other day and agreed with everything except the “mandate”. However, if there is an opt-out for parents, however misguided, I’m all for it.

    We’re still waiting for it here. It may be available privately but Medi-cal hasn’t cleared it yet.