Drug Company Drops Effort To Require Cervical Cancer Vaccine

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) An effort to require 11- and 12-year-old girls in Oklahoma to get a cervical cancer vaccine is apparently dead in the state Legislature.<br/><br/>The drug company Merck and Company is

Friday, February 23rd 2007, 5:18 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) An effort to require 11- and 12-year-old girls in Oklahoma to get a cervical cancer vaccine is apparently dead in the state Legislature.

The drug company Merck and Company is suspending its lobbying campaign to get legislators to pass a law requiring girls to get the shots as a requirement for school attendance.

Oklahoma Pharmacists Association director Phil Woodward says Merck is making a good decision because the vaccine could have side effects on girls younger than 16. Woodward also says the drug is currently too expensive.

The vaccine includes the drug Gardasil and helps prevent cervical cancer and genital warts. But recent reports say some women suffer side effects including dizziness and fainting.