Reply #229: I don't think that it was your intent to spread fear.

[Pithlet]

My responses are as much to do with many of the posts in this thread. I still disagree with your premise, however that the Governer is wrong in his decision to implement a policy that will get the most girls and women protected as possible. Bottom line is, if the vaccine is efficacious, has been through the process of gaining approval without skipping any steps, is approved by the APA, then there is no reason to block what the Governor of Texas is trying to achieve. Who cares if Merck wins the pot of gold if the vaccine works and saves lives? I'm sure Merck is loving the decision. I don't doubt your assertions that there was a race between Merck and the makers of Cervarix. That doesn't mean they weren't forced to adhere to the same safety standards that all other vaccines, medicines and procedures have to adhere to. I still see nothing in your arguments but speculation and mistrust, whatever your experiences and knowledge may be. That's fine if you're making the decision as an individual for yourself and your own family. But it's not enough to stop the Governor of Texas, or any other official who wants this inserted into the vaccine schedule. If the vaccine is efficacious and and has been safe after all the testing and at the time of approval, then I think it's not only fine, but the right thing to do for the Governor to get this to as many young girls and women as possible, because failure to do so will result in lives lost. There has to be more to fighting him on this than mistrust. There has to be evidence that they rushed it, and skipped steps, and didn't test sufficiently.