Bingo..connection between TX's gov and Merck (cervical cancer vaccine)

[rainbow4321]

Buried deep in an article about how his son was recently hired by the company UBS, "one of two large financial firms consulting with the governor's office over the possible sale of the Texas lottery, hired Gov. Rick Perry's son to work in its Dallas office about two weeks ago."



http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021307dntexperry.1c174d6.html


Critics of his decision to order vaccines for schoolgirls to help prevent cervical cancer noted that his former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, is registered to lobby for Merck, the only company that makes the vaccine.

[Ghost in the Machine]

1. I posted about this the other day...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=117588#122073

when the whole flap started over the vaccine. Ties right in with Rummy and the bird flu vaccine. Pure greed and policy manipulation.

:hi:

Ghost

[MADem]

2. Doesn't he own stock, too? NT

[beltanefauve]

3. Mike Malloy

was onto this one over a week ago.

[politicat]

4. It doesn't change the fact that the vaccine will save lives....

80% of women will be infected with HPV by age 50 and the only real time to effectively vaccinate is before the possibility of infection. Remember, in terms of infectious nature, HPV is a lot more like the cold viri than something as specialized as HIV.

Yes, Merck is going to make money hand over fist over this. I thoroughly expect any company that makes a vaccine against CANCER to do so. They are in a business, after all.

It does not change the fact that it is a good policy decision to require people to be vaccinated against the form of cancer which we can vaccinate against (and which just happens to be a very rapidly progressing, deadly and painful version of the disease with a poor prognosis for a cure and that is hard to detect early and quickly.)

Had it been my Dem gov who had ordered this, I doubt we would be having this "well, he's in the back pocket" discussion... we'd be having one that praises Ritter for being insightful and standing up to the fundies and for putting his own, personally sexually conservative views aside in favor of the pubic health and women's health.

[Skittles]

7. we have a right to be suspicious

we know repukes don't give a damn about women, and this decision seems very hasty even to the most liberal of liberals

[Lisa0825]

14. Those right wingers at Planned Parenthood are in favor of it too.

Go figger :sarcasm:

[jus_the_facts]

17. Wouldn't be the first time Liberals jumped on a RW bandwagon over misinformation either. n/t

[NobleCynic]

15. You're absolutely right. Re: Cost versus benefit

Even if Ritter is behaving in a corrupt manner, even if Merck is raking in more money than they should, the end result is still beneficial for the general public. So negotiate the price downward next fiscal cycle.

[donheld]

5. Why am I not surprised

:grr:

[Skittles]

6. because we all know repukes don't give a damn about women

therefore, there had to be someo other reason

[donheld]

11. God I miss Molly

what would she say?

[bowens43]

8. The motivation is irrelevent.

The fact is that the vaccine is a good thing and should be required.

[xchrom]

9. ding -- ding -- ding -- we have a winnah!

this vaccine is going global -- and will be ''mandated'' all over the place.

it was conceived and created with a french company -- not just merck alone.

there is another vaccine coming right on it's heels.

HPV vaccines
Vaccines are being developed to prevent HPV infection.  There are many different HPV strains.  Some are known to be high risk for cervical cancer.  If we had effective vaccines against all these strains, we might be able to prevent cervical cancer altogether.  Several research trials have been testing vaccines as a way of preventing infection with HPV.
A trial testing Gardasil called FUTURE II reported its results in October 2005.  This phase 3 trial involved over 12,000 women aged between 16 and 26.  These women did not have HPV before the start of the trial.  The women were divided into two groups.  Half the women were given Gardasil and the other half had a dummy vaccine (placebo).  Both groups of women had 3 injections of either the vaccine or placebo over six months.  Over the following two years the women had regular checks to see if they had developed HPV, or had any precancerous changes to the cells of the cervix, which could develop into a cancer.  The group who had the vaccine showed no precancerous changes.  Of the 5,258 women who had the placebo, 21 had precancerous changes, which is 0.4%.  The researchers found that Gardasil protected against HPV types 6 and 11, as well as 16 and 18.  Gardasil was licensed for use within the European Union in September 2006.  
Two other phase 3 trials have tested the vaccine Cervarix.  The first was for women under 26 and closed in July 2005.  It involved over 18,000 women from all over the world, including the UK.  This study was called ‘PATRICIA’ (PApilloma TRIal to prevent Cervical cancer In young Adults).   The second was for women of 26 and over, and closed in August 2006.  The aim of the trial is to find out the effect of the Cervarix vaccine on long term HPV infection. So it will be some time before we know the results.
It is possible that these vaccines will be used in a national vaccination programme in the UK in the future.  The research suggests that they would dramatically lower the number of cases of cervical cancer.  They would also reduce the need for colposcopy.  At the moment, they are only available on private prescription.  There is more information about HPV vaccines and cervical cancer in the cervical cancer questions and answers section of CancerHelp UK.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default_printer_friend.asp?page=9596

merck is not the only company who developed this vaccine -- a french drug company was also the developer

Comparable strategies needed to evaluate human papillomavirus vaccine efficiency across Europe

K Soldan1 ([e-mail]), J Dillner2

1Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, United Kingdom
2Dept of Medical Microbiology, MAS University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
A quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18, 6 and 11, known as GardasilTM (or Silgard, see note) was granted a marketing license by the European Commission in September 2006 following the positive opinion of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use in July 2006 <1>.

HPV infection is the most frequent sexually transmitted infection in Europe. Certain HPV types have been established as causative agents of cervical cancer (and its precursor stages that are the target of cervical screening), as well as of some other rare cancers of the ano-genital tract and oral cavity. A meta-analysis of published studies found just over 70% of invasive cervical cancer cases in Europe to be positive for HPV types 16 or 18 <2>. Pre-cancerous stages of cervical disease are common and often resolve with time. However, their follow-up, including treatment, repeated screening and examination of the cervix (colposcopy), is associated with considerable costs and anxiety. HPV 6 and 11 are not causally linked to cervical cancer, but are associated with some low-grade cervical lesions, the vast majority of genital warts and the rare condition of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis <3>.

The Gardasil vaccine is composed of virus-like particles (VLP) generated by the synthesis and self-assembly of the major HPV capsid protein (L1) in yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Gardasil has been licensed for the prevention of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN grades 2 and 3), cervical cancer, high-grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN grades 2 and 3), and external genital warts (condyloma acuminata) causally associated with HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 <1>. Trials have been undertaken to demonstrate the efficacy of the vaccine in women aged 16 to 26 years and immunogenicity in girls and boys aged 9 to 15 years. Protective efficacy in males has not been reported in the literature yet, but the results of more trials involving males are expected over the next few years.

Another vaccine composed of virus-like particles (VLP), a bivalent vaccine for HPV 16 and 18, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently under evaluation by the EMEA. Both these prophylactic vaccines have been shown to have very high efficacy in uninfected women against infection, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and, by implication, against cervical cancer caused by the HPV types targeted by the vaccine <4>.

The availability of efficacious vaccines now means that vaccination strategies should be designed and evaluated to inform decisions on efficient control of HPV-related diseases. Several questions about HPV vaccination efficacy and effectiveness are still under consideration <5> For example, data on its efficacy against disease in males and in women aged over 26 years (of whom many could have been previously infected) are still awaited. A longer follow-up of vaccine programmes is needed to determine the duration of protection. The impact of vaccination on the epidemiology and disease burden of HPV types not covered by the vaccine is also uncertain. There are some data from trials which suggest cross-protection against HPV-types closely related to the vaccine types. The possibility of type-replacement with non-vaccine types emerging as the cause of more disease is also a concern to be evaluated further. It is likely that most European countries will first consider vaccination of girls who have not yet become sexually active
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ew/2006/061123.asp

regarding the stigma around hpv --
Social Stigma
 
"There is unfortunately a social stigma associated with cervical cancer because HPV is a direct cause in approximately 70% of cases," Dr. Makhija told Medscape. "People are under the impression that this means the patient slept around or was in some way more sexually active, but this is often not the case, and she may well have been with 1 person who had the infection."
 
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 6.2 million Americans become infected with HPV every year and that over half of all sexually active men and women become infected at some time in their lives.
 
"Our expectation is that the far-right machine will gear up its disinformation and fearmongering tactics, all aimed at reducing availability of the vaccine by threatening funding and clouding the facts regarding the safety and the need for this vaccine," Ms. Julie Kay, an attorney for Legal Momentum, a New York City–based women's-rights organization, said in a statement to the press.
 
But Dr. Makhija said she has been pleasantly surprised by reaction so far. "I think people are realizing that this is not a political issue so much as a health issue." Based in Alabama, the investigator had worried about how difficult it might be to recruit women in the Deep South for the trial. "But we enjoyed an enormous response and had no trouble at all," she said. "People realized that this is something that could potentially protect their daughters, and the response has been excellent."
 
"Exciting Win Against Cancer"
 
Mr. Alan Kaye, from the National Cervical Cancer Coalition in Van Nuys, California, called the news "an exciting win against cancer." He is looking forward to what this could mean for public health.
 
But he is also glad from a personal perspective. Mr. Kaye founded the cancer coalition with his wife before she died of cancer. Today is the 5-year anniversary of her death. "It's wonderful to think that this amazing step forward has taken place on such an important day," he said. "My wife would be pleased."
 
http://www.brodstonehospital.org/your%20health.htm

other countries approve gardasil --
During an interview with Medscape, Jaime de la Garza, MD, from the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología in Tlapan, Mexico, agreed that the vaccines represent an important advance. He says they will be especially important for women in developing countries. "The incidence of cervical cancer is continuing to rise, and mortality rates are especially high in poor countries. If we can get vaccines such as these to patients, it will make a big difference."
 
Gardasil was approved last week for use in Mexico and is currently under review with regulatory agencies in the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.
http://www.brodstonehospital.org/your%20health.htm

this from an interview with dr tristram in the uk

Dr Tristram said, "This vaccine has to be given as a preventative, before there is any contact with the virus.


"If we are looking at the population and asking who should be vaccinated, we have to consider that one in four young people are sexually active before the age of 16, so we have to look at a younger age group.


"Another issue to consider is that, at around the time of puberty, if the cervix comes into contact with HPV, it is more likely to cause problems."

more --

Q Will the vaccine replace the need for regular smear tests?


A Dr Tristram said, "Cervical screening has been very successful in reducing the incidence of cervical cancer and this should not stop just because a vaccine has been introduced.


"There are lots of different types of HPV which can cause cervical cancer, not just 16 and 18, for which the current vaccine offers protection.


"The vaccine will reduce the incidence of cervical cancer further, but it will not get rid of it."

it also looks like some hpv related cancers are becoming MORE virulent and difficult to treat.

meps' in the uk supporting the use of gardasil

glynis wilmot is the labour mep for the west midlands

Cutting cancer deaths

I reported in the October edition that European Commission had licensed Gardasil, the first vaccine against HPV which can lead to cervical cancer. 

I am pressing the Commission on its plans to ensure that vaccination programmes are introduced in all member states, as well as a comprehensive programme of education to inform parents about the vaccine. Immunising every 12 year old girl could cut deaths from cervical cancer by more than 75%.

Latest information

http://www.gleniswillmott.labour.co.uk/ViewPage.cfm?Page=20338

planned parenthood's statement on gardasil

 Planned Parenthood Applauds FDA Approval of Gardasil
HPV Vaccine Is Crucial Step Forward for Women's Health  

New York, NY — Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) commended today's action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approved the first vaccine against two types of human papilloma virus (HPV) that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. 

"This is a huge step forward for women’s health.  Prevention is the key to good health, and this vaccine will give future generations the promise of health, safety and peace of mind," said PPFA President Cecile Richards.  “Now we must move forward to educate the public about the vaccine and ensure it is available to all Americans, regardless of their income level.” 

Planned Parenthood provides more than 1,000,000 women with cancer screenings each year.  This new vaccine will hopefully save lives. 

"The HPV vaccine is a public health breakthrough," said Richards.  "On behalf of the millions of women, men and teens Planned Parenthood serves every year, I thank the FDA for today's action." 

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.  Each year approximately 10,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the United States, and 4,000 American women die from the disease.    

###
http://ww1.ppgi.org/includes/media/prjune_06_c.asp

canada approves gardasil{ but of course merck has subverted the entire world to it's sinister plans}
HPV VACCINE APPROVED

In July 2006, a new vaccine to prevent against four strains of the Human Papilloma Virus was approved for use in Canada by Health Canada. Gardasil will be available by the end of August 2006 through Canadian physicians and pharmacists, and is designed to prevent cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancer as well as genital warts.

For more information, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm.
http://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/

[Booster]

19. I admit I haven't read everything involved with "Goodhair" Perry's

order, but does it state thal all girls have to be vacinnated ONLY with the drug Merck makes? If it does, then it seems to me this is a direct violation of ethics on his part.

[xchrom]

21. right now there is no other drug.

there will will be another drug soon from glaxo.

i don't think they'll only say one and not the other.

[Avalux]

13. The motivation is not irrelevant.

The fact that the vaccine is efficacious has nothing to do with the fact that it was approved by the FDA and will be given to millions of girls before enough safety studies were performed so that various entities can make a buck. Have you read the recent news about Ketek?

[Morgana LaFey]

18. The motivation may very well be EVERYTHING

It's at best corporate welfare for Merck but also stands a good chance of being an improperly and understudied danger for young girls. The important thing is how can you TRUST them, and why in God's name would you potentially (IMO more than likely) put young girls at risk by doing so?

[xchrom]

10. texas administrative code

http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=25&pt=1&ch=97&rl=63

Every child in the state shall be immunized against vaccine preventable diseases caused by infectious agents in accordance with the following immunization schedule.
  (1) In accordance with the Department of State Health Services Immunization Schedule as informed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) recommendations and adopted by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and published in the Texas Register annually, for all vaccines herein, vaccine doses administered less than or equal to four days before the minimum interval or age shall be counted as valid.


  (2) A child or student shall show acceptable evidence of vaccination prior to entry, attendance, or transfer to a child-care facility or public or private elementary or secondary school, or institution of higher education.

    (A) Children enrolled in child-care facilities, pre-kindergarten, or early childhood programs shall have the following immunizations: Age-appropriate vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, invasive pneumococcal, and varicella diseases in accordance with the Department of State Health Services Immunization Schedule as informed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) recommendations and adopted by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and published in the Texas Register annually. A copy of the current schedule is available at www.ImmunizeTexas.com or by mail to the Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756.

[PLF]

12. Not only that but this little move by Perry my be illegal

Two legal experts have questioned the constitutional legality of Perry's executive order. In a Statesman opinion piece Wednesday, former Travis Co. District Judge Scott McCown said the state constitution authorizes the governor to administer the law, not make the law. "This principle is textbook civics," he wrote. "Making law is for the Legislature." McCown is now executive director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities. Similarly, Tuesday's Quorum Report quoted Austin attorney Buck Wood stating flatly: "There is no such thing as an executive order. It's made up."

[Morgana LaFey]

16. Yes, we've known that, and DUers STILL don't give a damn

they STILL think it's somehow just fine to (a) trust Merck, (b) trust Perry, (c) trust ANY public health decision that isn't being pushed by public health people, (e) take weak and short-term "scientific" studies as good for long term use.

Hell, even Merck admits it doesn't know how long the damn vaccine is effective. There's SOMETHING WRONG HERE, folks. Something very, very wrong.

[Horse with no Name]

20. Perry is a scumbag. That is understood.

However, does this change the fact that Planned Parenthood has lobbied hard for this?:shrug:
I know you are a fellow healthcare practitioner and Texan...so I ask with all due respect.