Cancer vaccine takes heavy shots

Opponents decry bill making immunization mandatory for girls

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Parents and religious leaders Wednesday denounced a bill requiring girls to be vaccinated against cervical cancer, but supporters said the measure would save lives.

Opponents accused Merck & Co., manufacturer of Gardasil vaccine, of pushing similar legislation across the nation to boost its bottom line.

"This is a bill by Merck to pad the coffers of its shareholders under the guise of protecting girls," Heidi Hendricks, a parent of a teen daughter, said at a heated public hearing on the measure.

"It's a bit too early to be pushing this vaccine. It could mean $4 billion in sales to Merck."

Under Senate Bill 80, about 30,000 middle-school girls in Colorado would be vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus, which causes cervical cancer by sexual transmission.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, and Rep. Mike May, R-Parker, would require parents to sign a form if they don't want the vaccine administered to their daughters.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 5-4 on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor, to advance the measure.

Williams said she learned of the vaccine through her membership in Women in Government, a national advocacy group composed of female lawmakers.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Merck has funneled money through Women in Government to promote the vaccine, which costs roughly $350 per three-shot regimen.

AP also reported that an official from Merck's vaccine division sits on Women in Government's business council, and that sponsors of many of the vaccine bills nationwide are members of Women in Government.

But Williams downplayed the connection, saying that by next year other companies are expected to have cervical cancer vaccines on the market.

And she said she has never taken a contribution from the drug company.

"Merck is in every state," she said. "Women in Government is in every state. We do topics not only on health care but transportation and education, issues all legislators face."

Williams argued that 70 percent of cervical cancer can be prevented if females are immunized against the HPV virus. About 160 cases are diagnosed each year in Colorado, and about 30 percent of those women will die from it, state officials said.

Colorado Right to Life and Father Bill Carmody with the Catholic Dioceses in Colorado Springs blasted the measure, saying it will promote sexual activity.

"We should not pretend that every young girl is at risk for this disease," said Ed Hanks of Right to Life. "The best way to prevent the disease is to encourage our kids to wait to have sex until marriage."

But Dr. Chris Nyquist, a Denver pediatrician, said middle school is the best time for girls to get the vaccine. "The prime time for girls to get the vaccine is when they are ages 11 and 12. When you think of the cervix of a young girl, there are cells more susceptible to disease."

A doctor's response

Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, gynecologist and associate medical director at Kaiser Permanente of Colorado, on SB 80:

Opponents say Gardasil has not been proved safe. Do you agree?

No. We have done an exhaustive look at the literature and believe it is safe for our patients. In fact, that is why we began offering it as a covered benefit for eligible patients under our plan.

Some say the vaccine is ineffective because it guards against only certain strains of HPV. True?

(False.) It is effective because it guards against those high-risk HPV types that are associated with the development of cervical pre-cancers and cancers.

Is cervical cancer a serious enough problem to warrant a mandatory vaccine (keeping in mind parents can opt out)?

Absolutely.

Is it worrisome that Merck is putting a lot of money behind states' efforts to make the vaccine mandatory?

Marketing raises awareness. Patients and their parents are talking to their doctors to get the information they need and then making decisions about what's best for their health.

washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086