Money = Power?
Gov. Perry just signed an executive order that would require all girls be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine starting in 2008.
Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
Was it Merck, or was it common sense? Texas becomes the first state to make the vaccine mandatory, and this type of news just blows me away. I'm also waiting to hear news of a lawsuit because some parent some where is going to claim that the vaccine is going to make their child sexually active.
Oy Vey.
So, cheers to Texas.
