Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who signed an executive order in February requiring all school-age girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), is standing down. The Legislature passed a bill that bars a mandate for four years. Perry will allow the bill to become law without his signature.
“It is time to move this issue from the political arena to the court of public opinion where real lives are at stake,” Perry told The Associated Press.
Merck & Co.’s Gardasil vaccine protects against the four most common strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted infection.
Republican Rep. Dennis Bonnen sponsored the bill.
He said: “We should not and are now not going to offer the 165,000 11-year-olds in Texas up to be the study group for Merck to find out what the implications of this vaccine would be for these girls.”
Focus on the Family supports widespread availability of the vaccine, but not mandated vaccination.
