Michael Jackson TalkRadio Content

he following is in response to a question posed by my daughter on behalf of her daughter and our elder son's three daughters. (To-date we have been blessed with five grandchildren, only one of whom is a boy). The question is, simply, soon girls as young as 10 years of age could face a mandatory vaccination against a sexually transmitted virus which is said to cause cancer. If they reject it, they could be denied entrance to school. Do you believe that states should force this vaccine on girls? According to Doctors the human papilloma virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Merck, the drug manufacturer claims that their vaccine, Gardasil, could eliminate fully 70% of cases of cervical cancer if girls are vaccinated before becoming sexually active. The FDA approved the vaccine last year for females between 9 and 26. It might well be a sure way of reducing deaths. As the only manufacturer of the vaccine, the pharmaceutical giant, Merck, is campaigning vigorously to make the use mandatory. Merck stands to make billions of dollars if inoculations become mandatory. (And they aren't cheap; the estimated cost for a series of three shots is $360). Perhaps the main questions are ethical and moral. How about, why the rush? If, as it appears, this becomes the law, then wouldn't that mark a real shift in public-health policy. As it is, mandatory inoculations have been reserved for communicable diseases - hence, a public health risk. Gardasil is designed to protect against a virus that can be prevented by a child's behavior. If our children were still within the age range proposed I am sure Alana and I would not object to their receiving this protection. But, I can understand and appreciate those parents who, for a variety of reasons, would protest the drug being mandated. I think that when it comes to the well-being of our children we deserve options in health matters. The Christian Science Monitor posed significant questions in a recent lead editorial; "If this vaccine becomes mandatory, where will such government intrusion stop? If other vaccines become available, promising to prevent or cure non-communicable diseases, might they, too, be required by law?" They added that among the 25,000 patients who took part in early tests, only less than 5% were preteen girls. Michigan lawmakers turned down the idea just last month, claiming that the bill would interfere with family privacy. What do you think?