The
controversy surrounding Gov. Rick Perry’s executive order requiring
sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated for an STD virus that causes cervical
cancer has generated a variety of opinions.
“I believe that society has given up on promoting abstinence,”
said Amanda Dye, former EPCC student who is now studying for the ministry.
“Now it’s all about safe sex.”
Last June, Merck and Co. Inc. released Gardasil, a vaccine that it
had been testing for four years. Some believe there has not been enough
testing for the vaccine to be mandatory.
Frank Gonzalez, a computer major at EPCC and brother to two girls,
believes that the vaccine should not be mandatory. Asked whether his
sisters should receive the vaccine, he said “No, because they
are too young to be sexually active.”
After four years of testing, the Gardasil “cervical
cancer”
vaccine was released last June by Merck.
Gonzalez’s
sisters are thirteen and nine and he said that parents do not want
to see their children in a sexual relationship. He said he agrees
with Dye that the vaccine promotes sexual activity in that giving
young girls the vaccine makes it look like it is okay for them to
have sex.
An even stronger reaction was voiced by America Martinez. “No
way am I going to let the governor of the state I live in tell me
my 11-year-old daughter must be vaccinated before entering sixth-grade,”
she said.
“If you give the vaccination, it may lead to premarital sex,
and in turn can increase the teen pregnancy rates. I think when it
comes to informing our children of the birds and the bees, I want
to fill that department, and I can teach her how to practice safe
sex.”
EPCC librarian Kerry Gardner said, “Since it is not contagious
in a public setting it should not be required by the schools.”
As to who should make the choice, Gardner said, “it should be
up to the parents.”
Gardner does not have any children and said she was unsure what she
would do if she had children. “I don’t know if the vaccine
has been sufficiently tested,” she said, “so probably
not.”
Jacob Vaughn, a single parent with three children, said that a few
years ago he watched his mother struggle to overcome cervical cancer,
and that causes him to agree with the vaccination plan.
“I would want my child to receive the vaccine, because if the
vaccine can help eliminate the possibility [of getting infected],
then it’s better than the flu shot,” Vaughn said. “If
it prevents cancer, then it’s great.”
Vaughn, a former spinal cord injury specialist who is now a pilot,
said his mother had to undergo a hysterectomy to remove cancer-damaged
organs.
In clinical studies, the vaccine prevented four of the one hundred
existing strands of human papillomavirus (HPV), which can turn into
cancer, according to the Merck website. These four strands include
numbers 6, 11, 16, and 18.
The 16 and 18 strands are known to cause 70 percent of cervical cancer
and 50 percent of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). CIN 2,
also known as dysplasia, can turn into cervical cancer, the Merch
website said.
All four of these strands also cause 90 percent of genital wart cases,
according to Merck.
Gardasil works against all of these conditions, but it must be administered
before a girl or young woman comes into contact with the virus through
sexual activity, the website said.
Rode Sanchez, a government family nurse practitioner of gynecology
for three years and a microbiologist for nine, said that in her current
employment, she prescribes the vaccine.
Asked whether the vaccine should be mandatory, Sanchez said, “Yes,
because problems with cervical cancer are … caused by HPV 99
percent of the time. “It would be better to prevent it,”
she said.
Perry ignited a controversy with his Feb. 2 executive order that beginning
in 2008, sixth-grade girls will have to receive the vaccine just like
other immunizations in order to attend school.
EPCC bookstore supervisor Maggie Crye commented about Perry’s
mandate “Governor Perry is totally wrong to mandate women to
get a vaccine that is spread only through sexual contact,” she
said. A representative from Merck refused to give any information
regarding profit the company stands to make on the drug, and referred
this reporter to the Merck website.
Texas lawmakers have expressed concern over Perry’s order and
even held hearings in Austin, but so far have not taken any action.
Valerie McDonald also contributed to this story.
