Do you know what that slick ad is for?
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, December 9, 2016 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
An advertising campaign is moving through metro Atlanta in a big way. So says the Department of Public Health, CDC and MARTA that teamed up to promote Gardasil, a drug approved by the FDA in 2006.
No doubt, you’ve seen TV ads of young teens asking mom and dad whether they know about the drug, insinuating that all teens should be vaccinated with it. Not only are these ads on TV, they are on 50 MARTA buses, 120 MARTA trains, and 20 MARTA bus shelters, where they’re expected to be seen 12.7 million times.
When you read the ad, check to see whether it says HPV is a sexually transmitted disease or that it’s incurable and that it causes 30 to 40 types of infections, including cancer, or whether it explains which organs may fail and how many ways it may harm your teenager now or in future adult years.
The December 2011 full-page ad in the AJC Parade Magazine said: “Boys can be affected by HPV disease, too. Gardasil helps protect both your son and daughter.” Now they’re focusing on girls and boys, but the first vaccine – a three-shot series – was developed for girls, only. In addition to recommending it for boys, too, the updated version may require only two shots.In 2016 the American College of Pediatricians posted a statement warning of HPV medical uncertainties that should be addressed by everyone concerned before more damage is done to teens. While pediatricians request additional research on Gardasil’s effects on rats to determine long-term effects on human reproduction, they want family doctors to be told of the possible connection between Gardasil and damage to human organs.
The global HPV campaign has taken root in this country, where at least 42 states and territories have introduced legislation requiring adolescents to be vaccinated with Gardasil, and some would have government pick up the tab for the series of expensive injections. At least 25 states enacted HPV laws and some made it mandatory for sixth or seventh graders. Here in Georgia, H.B. 162, introduced in 2013, died in committee.
Nine years ago the Texas governor became the first to issue an executive order mandating HPV vaccination of all females entering the sixth grade. Thankfully, the Texas legislature passed H.B. 1098 to override that order and the governor did not veto it.
Since HPV is a sexually acquired infection, the best way to avoid the need for Gardasil is to abstain from sexual contact until marriage. Not only could sexual contact lead to various infectious diseases, sex outside of marriage is STILL against the law in Georgia. The moral: if you want to avoid the need for Gardasil, avoid sex outside of marriage. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.