The CDC said in 2008 that it was unaware that it’s recommendation for young women to receive the  human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil would lead to an immigration policy but it has.  In 2007, Governor Rick Perry of Texas issued an executive order requiring vaccines for incoming students but the executive order was overturned by the Texas legislature.  As of 2008, Virginia and the District of Columbia were the only jurisdictions mandating the vaccine.  the FDA now backs giving Gardasil to young males.

The United States requires 14 vaccines for immigrants, 13 of which fight infectious diseases spread through respiratory routes.  Gardasil is the only anti-STI (Sexually transmitted infection) on the list.  Merck denies lobbying the government for the provision that immigrants be required to receive the Gardasil vaccine.¹

The pharmaceutical company Merck is the only company that manufactures the Gardasil vaccine and as long as that continues to be the case it seems that requirements for the vaccine may pose an undue financial burden on immigrants.

Gardasil HPV Vaccine: Roadblock to U.S. Citizenship for Immigrants

Born in Britain in 1992, Simone Davis got off to a rough start in life. Her biological mother abandoned her as a baby, and her father couldn’t care for her.

At 3, her paternal grandmother Jean Davis got court orders giving her complete parental rights and responsibility to raise Simone until the age of 18.

Davis married an American in 2000 and moved them to Port St. Joe, Fla., but there was no equivalent guardianship in the United States. So for the last near decade, Davis has embarked on a quest to get Simone U.S. citizenship.

Now 17 and an aspiring elementary school teacher and devout Christian, Simone has only one thing standing in the way of her goal — the controversial vaccine Gardasil.

Immigration law mandates that Simone get the vaccine to protect against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer.   

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But Simone, who has taken a virginity pledge and is not sexually active, doesn’t see why she should have to take the vaccine, especially since it’s been under fire recently regarding its safety .

And none of her American classmates is mandated by law to be vaccinated.

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“I kind of feel like they may be experimenting with immigrants to see how we will react and then give the vaccine to citizens,” said Simone. “I told Nanny that if it is such a great vaccine, why isn’t it mandatory for everyone?”

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When Gardasil was added to the vaccine list last year, it drew anger and protests from immigration advocates, who argued that it placed an unfair financial burden on women. A three-shot series of the vaccine can cost between $300 and $1,400.

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¹ SOURCE