Bill Would Eliminate HPV Vaccine Subsidies

By Hannah Hess, Virginia Statehouse News Wednesday, January 25, 2012

RICHMOND - Delegate Kathy Byron, R-Lynchburg, plunged the General Assembly into the murky issue of human papillomavirus (HPV) on Tuesday, with a proposal that would cut off taxpayer subsidies of vaccines against HPV, a virus associated with genital warts and cervical cancer.

Byron claims she wants to “take government out of the equation” by striking the law that requires Virginia Department of Health clinics to provide the vaccine to sixth-grade girls whose parents opt to have their daughters protected against the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S.

But lawmakers, who worked hard in 2006 make Virginia the first state in the nation to offer funding for the HPV vaccine after a federal advisory panel suggested it, say they will fight to keep the funding intact.

“We’re going to make it so that poor girls can’t get vaccinated against a virus that can cause cancer, and I think that’s just deplorable,” said Delegate David Englin, D-Alexandria. “The idea that we will deny them that access will cause cancer and cause death, and that’s just deplorable.”

Virginia spent $1,054,238 to provide 6,479 doses of the vaccine last year to 11- and 12-year-olds, according to the Department of Planning and Budget. That's an average of $162.72 per dose.

A quarter of the money to pay for the vaccines came from general funds, while the rest was provided through Vaccines for Children, a national program dedicated to vaccinating children that is tied to the state’s Medicaid plan.

“Currently, if you are uninsured, or even too poor to afford the co-payment on whatever insurance you have, when you go to a Virginia Department of Health clinic, they have to provide you with the vaccine if you ask for it,” Englin said.

Byron, a mother of three, said she was unaware of the financial impact of her bill, and proposed it because of personal conviction.

Whether a sixth-grade girl should undergo the three rounds of shots necessary to protect her from the virus, which infects 6 million people annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control, should be a decision made by parents and doctors, Byron said.

Delegate Christopher Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, a gynecologist, questioned Byron’s logic.

Stolle said law requires health departments to send a letter to parents containing information about the HPV vaccine.

“The parents can then, if they choose, get an HPV vaccination,” he said. “If they choose to do nothing, nothing happens.”

Stolle reminded members of the House Health Welfare and Institutions committee that nationally there are 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer each year, and 4,000 associated deaths.

Only the District of Columbia followed Virginia’s lead in asking sixth-grade girls to get the vaccine, but other states considered similar bills.

Emotional debates about the side effects of the virus and the vaccine, and moral concerns about vaccinating preteens against sexually transmitted viruses often ensue.

Physicians waded into the national scene this fall, when GOP presidential candidates raised concerns about HPV vaccines.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry took heat from his opponents during a debate in September for his executive order that would have required the vaccinations. Perry has since withdrawn from the GOP presidential contest.

Then, Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann alleged that the vaccine causes mental retardation in “innocent little 12-year-old girls” — a claim later proven untrue by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Bachmann dropped out of the GOP race the day after Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses.

Byron and The Family Foundation, a statewide conservative advocacy group supporting the bill, say they are not sure if Bachmann’s claims are accurate, but side effects are a concern.

The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, a supporter of the vaccine, says the health concerns are unfounded.

The bill, HB1112, was approved by committee on a partisan vote and sent to the House of Delegates. Click here to read it.