Merck Backs Down

I neglected to note this earlier, but on Tuesday—not long after my column on the subject was published (*)—Merck announced that it would drop its campaign to make its HPV vaccine mandatory.

The company's decision doesn't mean the mandates are dead: Merck may have withdrawn from the debate, but others are still carrying the torch. But they're on the defensive, and the most recent legislature to vote on the idea—in Kansas—has rejected it.

(* No, I'm not taking credit.)