Bills would repeal HPV vaccine requirement
In 2007, the General Assembly passed a law requiring girls to be vaccinated against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus before entering the sixth grade. Now, two bills before the General Assembly would repeal that requirement.
From Pia Talwar, Capital News Service
In 2007, the General Assembly passed a law requiring girls to be vaccinated against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus before entering the sixth grade.
Now, two measures before the General Assembly would repeal that requirement: HB65, proposed by Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas; and HB1112, sponsored by Republican Delegates Kathy Byron of Lynchburg and Timothy Hugo of Centreville.
“It’s strange that we would mandate this,” Marshall said.
Some parents object to having their daughters take the HPV vaccine, usually sold under the brand name Gardasil.
“You are putting parents against the power of the state,” Marshall said. “This is pressuring the parents, and I don’t think it should be done.”
Virginia’s HPV vaccination requirement has a lenient opt-out clause: Girls can forgo the vaccine if their parents make the decision after reviewing materials describing the link between HPV and cervical cancer.
But HB65 and HB1112 would take the HPV law off the books entirely. Both bills have been referred to the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions. No action has been taken yet on Marshall’s bill.
But last Thursday, a subcommittee took up HB1112 and voted 6-2 in favor of the measure. It then went before the full Health, Welfare and Institutions committee and passed 14-8.
HPV is spread by skin-to-skin and sexual contact. It can cause cervical cancer in women and genital warts in both men and women. In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil as an effective vaccine against HPV. Medical experts recommended that girls receive the vaccine at ages 11 or 12 for the best protection.
Gardasil is given in three doses over six months. Each dose costs about $130, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the United States, nearly 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 3,700 women die.
Byron opposed Virginia’s HPV vaccination law and has campaigned to overturn it. She said that the vaccine has not been adequately tested and that the General Assembly acted hastily in 2007.
If Virginia keeps its HPV vaccination requirement, Marshall has proposed another measure – HB824. It would make the state liable for any injury caused by the vaccine.
Last year, Byron’s bill to repeal the HPV vaccination law passed the House but died in the Senate Education and Health Committee, which at the time was dominated by Democrats. This year, because of GOP gains in the Senate, Republicans now control that committee.
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Related
- The Checkout Girl on the HPV vaccine
- “HPV study finds 7% of U.S. teens, adults carry virus in mouths”; CBS 6
Photo by: euthman
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The bill just passed the House 62-34. Given the easily-exercised opt-out, there is no medical reason to repeal this legislation. Virginia’s assault on women continues.
http://virginiapolitics.tumblr.com/post/16582149841/hpv-vaccine-measure-passes-house
@Kathleen: Thanks for the update, we’ll keep on eye on this bill as it progresses. You can track all kinds of legislation using the (awesome) Richmond Sunlight website.
For example, you can see all the bills I am tracking here.
Kathleen,
I am not trying to be snide but sincerely curious….how is repealing this mandate Virginia’s assault on women? I personally do not have daughters but sons, and I was a little appalled that parents were required by law to allow this vaccine be given to their daughters. How is it an assault on women to repeal its mandatory status? In my thinking, it’s an assault on women to make them take it. So I am just curious as to where you’re coming from…
Wound up at this site after doing a little research on the vaccines through an article on Yahoo about sickness possibly coming from a 40 y.o chemical spill, which is affecting girls primarily, . One of the commentors on the messsage board had mentioned that parents of these girls (and others) were convinced that their children’s symptoms were a cause of this particular vaccine which I found to be interesting….
@ CoCo-It’s just another example where Virginia lawmakers have determined that women are not smart enough to make decisions about their own or their families’ health. If you don’t want your daughter to receive the vaccine, you can easily opt out. Works the same way as opting out of any other vaccines.
The HPV vaccine is expensive and so adding it to the list of required immunizations was critical to making the vaccine accessible through coverage by private health insurers and government vaccination programs.
As for the vaccine’s safety, Gardisil has been extensively tested and administered in both the US and Europe. No vaccine is without side effects, however, based on my discussions with my doctor and my daughter’s doctor, I am comfortable with Gardisil’s safety. I choose not to rely on comments on internet article boards for my medical information; many of those same folks are convinced that other childhood vaccines cause autism–another claim that has failed to be scientifically proven.
A truly easy opt out would be a simple ‘No thanks.’ I shouldn’t have to read anything they want me to read in order to do so. I’ve read enough about the vaccine on my own time and I’ve seen the kind of literature doctors carry. It’s all from the CDC which is humorous since they are the ones who stand to gain from you and your children being vaccinated.
The vaccine has not been extensively tested. They say that because they’re told to to get parents to be compliant. Girls have been dying from this vaccine faster than babies die from several others which have been on the schedule for many more years.
It’s typical of a pro-vaccine person to bring up autism though that is the least of my (and other anti-vaccine moms’) worries. Maybe YOU should be reading more than comments on internet articles since you’re quite misinformed.
@Kathy Thank you for clarifying your point. I agree with you that we do not need government intervention to tell us what decisions to make regarding our families health, we’re smart enough and have plenty of resources to make well-informed decisions. I also understand about the requirement angle to get insurance coverage available to families who do choose the vaccination, especially costly ones. That being said, I do have points in common with @Lexie Romeo.
From what I have recently researched on it, it’s coming from both sides of good & bad obviously. The good being people such as yourself who are comfortable with it. The bad being health issues in girls with the only common factor seemingly being the vaccine, like the example I cited in my first post. Not saying for certain that it is the vaccines causing these symptoms/problems. It being a new vaccine, no one is really sure of the long-term effects. And that makes me skeptical of it. I agree with @Lexie Rose about the lack of extensive testing and the CDC (& pharmaceutical cos. too!) that stand to gain…
The other vaccines we are giving (and in Virginia, or in my area at least, children must have them to attend public school) have been around for a long time and have had extensive research and studies done on them. I am not convinced of the autism link either and I certainly don’t want my child to catch a disease that prior to these vaccinations, children died from.
It’s such a fine line because we fiercely want to protect our families’ health from threats but at the same time, not be compliant or duped…..