More info re: Texas Mandate

[fiberaddict]

Boy....our gov's got himself into it now. Yesterday, all everyone babbled about was "Oh, noes, new mandate! What to do????!!!111" Today, more info hits...

It's an executive order mandating the vaccine, and, according to the Gov's office, the Lesgiature has no authority to repeal it. (I dunno....the Att'y Gen has been asked for an opinion.) It takes effect as of September, 2008, for ALL girls entering 6th grade.

He has directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines (don't know how that'll affect *me*, but, as I said before - it doesn't matter. I'll pay out of pocket if I have to.) He's also ordered Medicaid to offer it ot women ages 19 to 21. (I also read/heard somewhere that he is ordering regular insurance companies to cover it.....but I may be imagining things, as I can't find it now.)

So, I feel a little better, knowing that he is trying to make it affordable for everyone...but. He still doesn't have the right (I feel) to make this decision for anyone but his own family.

I don't mind the required vaccinations for school - Mumps/Measles/Rubella, Chickenpox (well..that one I do, but whatever), polio, Hep B (and A? I think - can't remember), TB - my doc and I discussed each one, the possible side effects, what would happen if I *didn't* give the shots (you can get a parental waiver for religious or philosophical reasons - I do NOT know if that waiver will include Gardasil; there was no specific mention of that) and they were exposed....and I said, OK. I felt I had enough facts at hand to make a rational decision. Not all parents discuss these things with their doctors; not all doctors volunteer the pros and cons, they just come in with a shot and say "Here ya go!". :grin:

Now, another thing to make me feel *I* made the right decision - my MIL informed me that Steve's side of the family has a strong history of cervical cancer :bigeyes:. I didn't know.....would this have swayed me if I didn't feel comfortable with the shot? Probably. While I don't know if there is a genetic link to cancers (and I haven't researched it - bad me! I need to take the time...but I gotta find the time, first), I don't know that there *isn't*.

piraterogue raised a good point - what of the 1 in a million girl who has a fatal reaction to the shot? Especially if her parents didn't want to get it in the first place, and only got it because of the executive mandate? What then?

Even more questions....but still - I feel that the government has NO RIGHT to interfere with my parental rights. :sigh:

We'll see how this plays out....if it holds, Texas will be the first state mandating the vaccine. Other states, watch out!

Comments

[serenya-loreden.livejournal.com]

This is the best explanation I've seen for why States, and the CDC, are being encouraged to make it mandatory:

From http://respectfulofotters.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_respectfulofotters_archive.html#115014348839784276

"Religious exemptions to mandatory vaccines are already available in every state but West Virginia and Mississippi.

If it's easy to opt out, why the battle over mandatory? Because mandatory = affordable. States cannot make a vaccine mandatory for school entry unless they are willing to provide it to those who cannot pay. And thus, through the CDC's Vaccines For Children program, every state supplies children with required vaccines free of cost. But optional vaccines are a different story. For example, check out this price list for various optional vaccines at the Shelby County (Tennessee) Health Department; the price per shot is as high as $96. Required vaccines at the same clinic cost $8. And that's at a health department, which is pretty much the cheapest place to get vaccinated anywhere. Put simply, if the HPV vaccine is not made mandatory, it probably won't reach the low-income women and girls who need it most."

[fiberaddict.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU! This is the first time I've seen this - it's been hella busy here, and I haven't had the time to surf like I normally do :grin: - and it *does* make sense!

[serenya-loreden.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it helped! I'm still not entirely happy, as I rarely am with government-mandated. But, it's not like mandated vaccines are new, and this is an explanation for WHY that I can accept, understand, and appreciate. And since those who are opposed for whatsoever reason have the right to opt out I consider it to be in the win column overall.