The discussion about vaccinating adolescents against the human papillomavirus (HPV) intensified after public-health authorities recommended vaccination before exposure to the virus. In February 2007, Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order directing state agencies to develop an HPV-vaccination requirement for sixth-grade girls, with an opt-out provision for parents.
The proposed Texas mandate did not take effect. In April 2007, the Texas Legislature approved legislation overriding the executive order, and Governor Perry later announced that he would not veto the bill. HPV vaccination remains recommended for adolescents, but it is not one of the vaccines required for admission to Texas K–12 schools. The historical debate should therefore be described as a proposed mandate that was cancelled before implementation, not as a vaccination requirement imposed on all Texas girls.
Critics at the time described the proposed compulsory-vaccination policy as a victory for Merck and questioned the company’s influence on the debate. These allegations formed part of the political controversy surrounding the proposal; they do not establish that the cancelled Texas mandate caused harm.
Supporters of Governor Perry’s 2007 proposal compared an HPV requirement with established school-vaccination requirements for diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. This comparison was part of the contemporary debate over the proposed order, which the Texas Legislature later blocked.
Supporters of Perry’s proposal argued that Gardasil could prevent HPV-related cancers and noted that many insurance plans covered the vaccine. These arguments should be understood in the context of the 2007 policy debate rather than as evidence that the proposed Texas mandate took effect.
Texas permits exemptions from certain school-vaccination requirements through an affidavit process. That general exemption framework was discussed during the HPV controversy, although the proposed statewide HPV school mandate itself was cancelled before implementation.
There are more than 100 different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), which are usually easily cured. Approximately 30 types of HPV are sexually transmitted and according to the American Society of Clinical Studies ( American Society for Clinical Investigation ), it is the direct cause of approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases. The fact that the virus is sexually transmitted is the only reason why many object to mandatory vaccination.
To show the maximum effect, the vaccine should be applied before the first sexual experience of the girl (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.-a). This gives reason to cautious opponents to argue that vaccination, which is done at a young age, is tantamount to allowing for early sex. Other opponents believe that compulsory vaccinations are a case of flagrant violation of the rights of parents.
“This is a public insult to the freedom of Americans and a form of medical enslavement by a system of government that is increasingly being mastered and operated by powerful corporations,” says Mike Adams. “Undoubtedly, this is not a question of health care. It’s about exploiting the bodies of little girls in the name of dirty corporate profits.”
Gardasil is sold at a price of $ 360 for the dose needed for vaccination. Contemporary critics argued that the manufacturer could receive substantial revenue if HPV vaccination became mandatory nationwide. Most of the money the company invests to achieve this goal is focused on the women’s protection group “Women in the Government”, formed by women members of the legislature throughout the country.
According to the Associated Press, Rick Perry has connections with Merck and the Women in Government group. In particular, the former head of his administration, Mike Toomey (Mike Toomey) is a member of the lobbying group Merck in the state of Texas. Dianne White Delisi (Republic of Texas – Texas) is the director of the Women in the Government of Texas, as well as the current head of the administration of the Governor of the State of Pic Peiri. In addition, Merck financially supported the governor’s reelection campaign in 2005.
The vaccination plan, similar to that approved by the governor of Texas, was previously proposed by the government of Scotland, and it was meant to vaccinate girls and boys at the age of 9 years. This plan was opposed by parents who considered it unacceptable to vaccinate children at such an early age, and it was not carried out. However, the Scottish administration is still considering the possibility of vaccinating girls 12 years and older. According to information published in the British Medical Journal (June 9, 2007; 334: 1182-1183), three girls died in the US shortly after Gardasil vaccination, and 1637 received serious complications.
Conducting preventive vaccinations or vaccination is the only and most effective way to protect against many serious infectious diseases and prevent serious complications from these diseases. There is no doubt that in the near future, vaccination will play an ever-increasing role in protecting humanity from infections, providing health to every member of society, and contributing to the development of civilization. In order to protect the health and ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population of Texas, the State Law “On Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases” was adopted, establishing the legal basis for state policy in the field of immunization of infectious diseases (Texas Education Code § 38.001, n.d.).
Immunization in the national calendar of preventive vaccinations and the vaccination calendar for epidemiological indications is carried out with vaccines of domestic and foreign production, registered and authorized for use in accordance with the established procedure and the instructions for their use. Applied vaccines meet international requirements, and pass state control, including those imported from abroad. A state supervision system for producing, storing, transporting, and selling vaccines was established, including controlling their quality. The state guarantees the provision of a modern level of vaccine production. In addition, the vaccine is accompanied by a system for monitoring its safety throughout the entire journey to the patient. Vaccines are used with careful precaution, given their possible intolerance to the body or contraindications. Vaccines, packaged directly into syringes, such as multicomponent vaccines, which reduce the number of injections, are increasingly being introduced.
The state of Texas is convenient to compare with Ukraine. By area, it is slightly larger, and its population is slightly smaller – about 26 million people. The state has two urban agglomerations of millionaires and several large cities with a population of just under one million. The administrative staff is divided into 250 county counties, which roughly corresponds to the number of administrative districts in Ukraine (taking into account the division of regional centres and large cities into districts).
To begin with, we give a few interesting facts:
When choosing a place of residence in a new city, Americans determine the prosperity of the district primarily by the rating of schools. The rating is made according to the results of the final exams and is available on various sites.
Areas, where schools have the highest rating, are the best for living.
Education spending is the state’s largest expense, but despite this, about 19% of its residents do not know how to read. It should be noted that the number of legal and illegal immigrants from Latin America heavily influences this figure.
Of the 5 most “reading” US cities, 3 are in Texas.
Structure of education management in the US
Who influences and defines the policy of the Texas schools:
- The federal level is the US Department of Education.
- The state level is the Texas Education Agency.
- The local level is the school district.
- Headteacher.
The United States Department of Education (United States Department of Education)
Education, both secondary and higher, is the competence of the states, the rights, and opportunities of the federal government are insignificant. Moreover, the US 200 years have been successfully managed without a ministry created only in 1979. Texas public-school enrollment is administered through state and local systems, while immunization requirements and exemptions are overseen by the Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Education Agency, n.d.).
In its functions, the Ministry of Education of the United States is absolutely different from our ministry. If our ministry regulates a lot, then the American analogue has only three main functions:
Control the observance by schools and local governments of federal laws in the field of education.
Collect and prepare reports on the work of educational institutions and the US education system as a whole.
Distribute and monitor the use of federal funding.
Federal programs (grants)
Having no legal authority to influence the work of schools directly, the ministry uses “gingerbread” in the form of grants to guide the learning process in the right direction.
The conditions for obtaining grants and requirements for organizations that can qualify for their receipt are published on the Ministry of Education’s website.
For example, if there is a task to improve American history teaching quality, the ministry is developing an advanced training program for teachers teaching this subject.
Local education administrations (states, counties, etc.) can participate in the program. The budget of the program is $ 120 million, and the size of the grant is $ 900,000. The ministry monitors compliance with requirements: if in 2009 the grant received 123 organizations, in 2010 – only 12.
Grants can be received not only by educational organizations. For example, if the federal government is concerned about the level of crime and drug use among Hawaiian indigenous people, the ministry is setting up a special program: “A program for indigenous Hawaiians. ”
Organizations that represent local residents can participate in the struggle for a grant; the program’s total budget in 2009 was about $ 600 thousand, and funding for one grant was in the range of $ 200 – $ 300 thousand.
Grants are the main tool by which the federal government can actively influence secondary education. The complete list of programs is extensive and includes many directions.
At the federal level, only the following aspects of the education system are legally regulated:
The rights of parents and students (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
Rights of disabled people and people with disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
Principles of education and the procedure for funding schools (grants) from the federal government (No Child Left Behind / Elementary and Secondary Education Act).
The Ministry can only specify the boundaries (the rights of parents, and students), which are required to comply with all states.
The main instrument of influence of the federal government is a system of additional financing through the system of grants, which greatly help local education authorities’ budgets.
Children are immunised in vaccine rooms of the city (district) children’s polyclinics, preschool institutions they attend, and schoolchildren in schools. Adults are vaccinated at the workplace in the medical stations of factories and factories or inoculations of polyclinics at the place of residence, and in rural areas – in specially deployed vaccination points. Before vaccination, the doctor must inspect all vaccinations to identify contraindications and measure the body temperature. Vaccinations are carried out by medical personnel with training and admission to vaccination. Conducting preventive vaccinations requires strict adherence to aseptic and antiseptic rules to prevent purulent-inflammatory complications. After the preventive vaccination by the medical personnel, the reaction of the vaccinated to vaccination is checked in a timely manner and all possible deviations in the state of health are monitored. In all clinics, vaccination cards are kept for registration of preventive vaccinations, which consists of separate cards for the registration of preventive vaccinations for children and adults, in addition, vaccination certificates must be issued to all those who received vaccinations.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.-a). HPV vaccination recommendations.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). State vaccination requirements.
Texas Department of State Health Services. (n.d.-a). Texas immunization exemptions.
Texas Department of State Health Services. (n.d.-b). Texas minimum state vaccine requirements for students.
Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Enrollment in public school.
Texas Education Code § 38.001. (n.d.). Immunization; requirements; exceptions. Texas Legislature Online.
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