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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2007-04-25

Colorado Democrats: Leaping On Some "Cures" Before Looking

From the Wednesday WashTimes:

The initial rush to require the inoculation of preteen girls with the new HPV vaccine Gardasil fueled by Merck & Co.'s lobbying is meeting resistance as state lawmakers nationwide begin to question its safety, long-term effectiveness and cost. . .

Infectious-disease specialists and cancer pathologists, including members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel whose support of the drug was interpreted by states as a call to act, say that Gardasil should not be mandatory and that its five-year window of effectiveness raises concerns about whether the right age group is being targeted.

Cancer data show that the average cervical-cancer patient is 47 and most likely contracted HPV, which incubates for up to 15 years before becoming cancer, in her 30s more than a decade after the Gardasil's proven effectiveness if given to 11- to 13-year-old girls as a requirement for school attendance.

Meanwhile, in YOUR state legislature:

A bill that would help prevent cervical cancer was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee today by a vote of 5-4. The bill would require Colorado school-age girls to be vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer.

Remember all those stupid, idle comments from the national Democratic Party about Republicans being against science? Well, never let that be said about THIS state.

Nope, around here our Democrats have no idea what good scientific method is, much less how to apply it public policy, all the while being the toadies of . . . .wait for it . . . . .BIG DRUG COMPANIES!

That's right--in case you didn't notice it above, the main push to make this vaccine mandatory comes from Merck, the manufacturer of the drug.

Now, in defense of the Dems, this bill languished in the Appropriations Committee, so it's not going to be law any time soon [thank God]. But the eventual outcome does nothing to diminish the frightful recklessness of the state Democratic Party.

By the way, have you heard anything about this in your local media? Didn't think so.
Posted by: Michael / 4/25/2007 12:36:00 AM

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