Texas almost mandated an HPV vaccine before politics got in the way. Now, the state has one of the

[TexasTowelie]

Texas almost mandated an HPV vaccine before politics got in the way. Now, the state has one of the country’s highest rates of cervical cancer


In 2007, two governments set into motion a massive public health experiment.

One was the state of Texas, where lawmakers rejected a mandate to vaccinate adolescent girls against human papillomavirus, or HPV, a near-ubiquitous sexually-transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer. For more than a decade since, the number of Texas adolescents vaccinated against HPV has remained low.

On the other side of the globe, Australia, a country with roughly the same size population and economy as Texas, was taking a radically different approach. Public health leaders there rolled out a nationwide program that offered the HPV vaccine to girls for free at their schools. The program, though optional, proved popular, and it later expanded to boys. Vaccine coverage grew rapidly, with up to 80% of teens becoming immunized over the next decade.

Now, twelve years after Texas and Australia first veered onto wildly different courses regarding HPV prevention, their gap in health outcomes has widened demonstrably. Australia is on track to become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer, perhaps within a decade. Texas, meanwhile, has hardly made a dent in its rate of cervical cancer — which remains one of the highest in the United States, with an incidence comparable to that of some developing countries.

Medical experts in both Texas and Australia say the results underscore the effectiveness of widely available vaccines and cancer screenings.

Read more: https://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/news/20190812/texas-almost-mandated-hpv-vaccine-before-politics-got-in-way-now-state-has-one-of-countrys-highest-rates-of-cervical-cancer
(Stephenville Empire-Tribune)

[RainCaster]

1. We did this for all of our kids

Fuck Texas

[blueinredohio]

2. To me it's SO IMPORTANT to get your kids vaccinated.

My mother had cervical cancer, fortunately it was caught early enough and taken care of she lived for another30 years. Just last month I had an abnormal pap test. I am HPV positive and next week have to have a coneoscopy. They think it's only lesions and not cancer. My daughter got her 12 year old vaccinated last week, will get the other one when she's 12. PLEASE get your kids vaccinated.

[NoPasaran]

3. Ah, politics

One of the interesting ingredients in the HPV vaccine stew was the fact that then-governor Rick Perry issued an executive order mandating the vaccine which led to many Democrats opposing it.