Missouri governor signs legislation to support HPV education, vaccination
August 4th, 2010 by Wendi Lewis
Missiouri Governor Jay Nixon recently signed House Bill 1375, which will provide funding for educational materials about human papillomavirus (HPV) and its connection to cervical cancer to young women and their parents. According to information about the bill on the official website for the governor’s office, the legislation requires the development of a brochure regarding HPV that will promote immunization for girls and boys. Currently, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co., is the vaccine administered in the U.S. for the prevention of HPVs linked to cervical cancer.
According to the language in the final version of the legislation, the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services will be responsible for developing “an informational brochure relating to the connection between human papillomavirus and cervical cancer, and that an immunization against the human papillomavirus infection is available.” The legislation says the brochure will be made available on the health department’s website and that the department will notify each public school district in the state of the availability of the materials.
It is unclear whether the new literature will specifically name or endorse the Gardasil vaccine, but the language of the bill suggests that educational materials will imply the vaccine is a true preventive measure against cervical cancer, when in fact the drug only protects against four out of about 40 different types of HPV.
It is also is unclear whether the new literature will clarify that medical professionals say about 90 percent of HPV infections are cleared by the body on its own, making the vaccination largely unnecessary, or whether the literature will outline the many serious adverse events associated with Gardasil. Since its introduction in 2006, Gardasil has been linked to reports of such serious side effects as seizures and lupus. There also have been more than 50 deaths reported following Gardasil vaccinations.
The brochure will include language about the importance of Pap tests in detecting precancerous changes that can develop into cervical cancer.
The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Robert Cooper (R) and handled in the Senate by Sen. Jolie Justus (D), also allows physicians to prescribe medication for the sexual partners of their patients to treat sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and gonorrhea, a practice known as “expedited therapy.”
Read the Missouri HB1375T.