Arkansas, The HPV Vaccine

Should the HPV vaccine be made mandatory for girls ages 9 to 12? Fortunately Dr. Jim Phillips of the state Health Division said no.

The state Health Division has decided not to request that the Board of Health include a new vaccine guarding against human papillomavirus, or HPV, in its list of required vaccines for children.

Arkansas is one of many states which are making decisions whether to make it mandatory or voluntary. There are some controversies about the vaccine.

Dr. Jim Phillips, the divisionÂ’s director of infectious disease, said officials worry that requiring the HPV vaccine could cause more parents to refuse to immunize their children.
"As you're aware, parents taking the exemption from immunizations has been skyrocketing over the last several years," he told members of the state Board of Health, "and with this vaccine, it's associated with the three-letter word ' sex. '"

Dr Phillips is right. The ages that Merck (manufactures the vaccine, Gardisil) is targeting are 9 to 12 year olds. Some parents don't want to vaccinate their child because it would create a false sense of security that she would be "protected" from a sexually transmitted virus. Their fear would be that she would be more likely to be promiscuous.

Another issue is the resentment of the government interfering once again in their daughter's healthcare. Parents are already seething about their rights when it comes to abortions.

I think that the vaccine should be promoted and the public educated more about HPV, cervical cancer and Pap smears. I don't think that the vaccine should be mandatory. HPV is a sexually trasmitted virus. It isn't a communicable disease like measles, mumps, polio ect. that we make vaccinations mandatory. Cervical cancer caused by HPV can easily be avoided by limiting yourself to one sexual partner.

One thing I'm not happy about is the way Merck it trying to get the states to make it mandatory. Merck stands to make a bundle off of this vaccine. Gardasil is one of the most expensive vaccines marketed. It requires 3 vaccinations at about $120 a pop. Merck's methods has already gotten the Governor of Texas in a bit of trouble.

Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

While Texas has made it mandatory other states aren't because the cost is too high and many doctors won't be reimbursement adequately.

But in the real world, Gardasil is getting used less than doctors would like. Pediatricians and gynecologists from Arizona to New York are refusing to stock Gardasil because of its $360 price for the three doses required and "totally inadequate" reimbursement from most insurers.
Pediatricians, in particular, are rebelling, fed up after years of declining insurance reimbursement for vaccines, an explosion of new vaccines and fast-escalating vaccine prices.

I guess the market will decide how successful Merck is in getting people vaccinated. People who truly fear getting cervical cancer will get the vaccine at any cost. When I look at how casual people are about sex in light of getting other sexually trasmitted diseases (HIV, chlamydia, gnonorrhea, herpes ect.) I'm thinking a lot a women won't be getting the vaccine.