Bill to require vaccinations against HPV
Steve Lawrence, Associated Press
March 12, 2007

SACRAMENTO — California schoolchildren are supposed to be vaccinated against nearly a dozen diseases, including measles, mumps and chickenpox. Assemblyman Ed Hernandez wants to add one more — the potentially deadly human papillomavirus.

The Baldwin Park Democrat has a bill that would require girls to be vaccinated against HPV, which can be sexually transmitted and cause genital warts or cervical cancer, before they start the seventh grade.

The measure, which would take effect in 2009, is scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Assembly Health Committee.

It's controversial because of claims that the vaccinations could encourage more teen sex, an argument that Hernandez says is "the most absurd thing I have ever heard."

"What happens if we find a vaccination that prevents lung cancer?" he asked. "Does that mean we shouldn't give them because people might start smoking more?"

The bill allows parents or guardians who object to the vaccinations to exempt their children from the requirement by filing a letter or affidavit with the school.

But Randy Thomasson, president of the conservative Campaign for Children and Families, said the so-called opt-out option would be difficult for some parents to use.

"Some parents are uncomfortable writing letters," he said. "Some parents are not aggressive and strong-willed."

He wants the bill amended to put the onus on schools to get written permission from parents before imposing the vaccination requirement. He also wants language in the measure stating that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid sexually transmitted HPV.

"The broad majority of parents think the vaccine holds hope, but they want to be asked their permission," he said. "It's their child, not the state's child."

Hernandez said the opt-out option is not onerous and is the same procedure offered parents who object to the other school vaccination requirements in state law.

"The reason why there's so much controversy is because it's a" sexually transmitted disease, he said. "I'm trying to take the argument away from STDs and look at it as reducing the risk of cervical cancer. ... I think that overshadows any opposition to this particular vaccine."

A study released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in four American girls and women ages 14 to 59 have HPV.

Lawmakers in 20 other states have introduced bills to require girls to be vaccinated against the virus, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Last month, the Virginia Legislature became the first in the country to approve such a measure, and the state's governor has promised to sign it.

Texas' Republican governor, Rich Perry, issued an executive order Feb. 2 requiring girls entering the sixth grade to have the vaccinations. That triggered heated criticism from conservatives and an effort in the Texas Legislature to pass a bill overturning the order. Critics also have focused on Perry's ties to Merck & Co., which manufactures an anti-HPV vaccine. That vaccine targets four strains of HPV that are linked to most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.

Perry's former chief of staff now lobbies for the drug company, which has contributed to Perry and the Republican Governors Association.

Merck recently announced that it was dropping lobbying campaigns to convince states to adopt laws similar to Hernandez's bill.

Janet Skidmore, a Merck spokeswoman, said the decision was "based on recent events and on advice of various stakeholders."

"We do not want discussions of Merck's support of school requirements to be a distraction from the important challenge of reaching all of the girls and young women who could benefit from this vaccine," she said.

Hernandez said Merck did not ask him to carry his legislation. He said it grew out of a discussion that he and his wife had about getting their 16-year-old daughter vaccinated.