Michele Bachmann: HPV Vaccine 'Ravages' Girls

Michele Bachmann is still defending her opposition to the vaccine that prevents HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer. At a campaign event in Sheldon, Iowa on Monday night, she sympathized with a mother who believes her daughter Jessica, now 16, has been debilitated by headaches, pains and seizures brought on by the vaccine three years ago and can no longer attend school.

"Michele, on behalf of myself and a lot of other mothers that have a child that’s sick from the Gardasil vaccine, I would like to thank you for the attention that you brought to it," Julie Wepple said, according to the Des Moines Register.

Bachmann thanked Wepple for bringing up the vaccine issue. "Parents have to make that decision for their kids because it isn't the schools that are going to follow up with Jessica," she said. "It isn’t the schools that live with Jessica every day. It’s Jessica who’s having to have her body live with the ravages of this vaccine."

For months Bachmann's campaign has been after Rick Perry, who in 2007 mandated that all young girls in Texas receive the vaccine--and later said he made a mistake. Central to the debate was Texas lobbyist Mike Toomey, who served as chief of staff for Perry for two years and lobbied for Merck, Gardasil's maker. Bachmann alluded to her opponent's ties to the drug company again on Monday night.

"And that's a very big issue, and we can't sacrifice the health of even one child on the altar (for) profits for some big drug company," she said.

After the event, Wepple took to her Facebook wall to continue the conversation:

Tonight Jessica and I had the opportunity to meet Michele Bachmann, presidential candidate. I thanked her for the attention she has brought to the Gardasil vaccine. She said she would not be bought by a drug company!!!!!!!! Hopefully we educated a lot of people in the room on the dangers of the vaccine and afterwards we were interviewed by the Des Moines Register and CBS news. Hopefully they will also spread the news of the dangers of the Gardasil vaccine, tell how many kids are getting sick from it and help us to find those who are sick and don't know why. Please pray God will heal all these kids so they may someday live a normal life again.

Comments

[Michael D Williams]

03:12 AM on 08/29/2012

Bachmann needs a distemper shot.

[sabelmouse]

09:06 AM on 12/11/2011

i just came across this personal account. i'm outraged on behalf of this girl.
http://sanevax.org/victims-2/

[patrons99]

05:00 PM on 11/26/2011

It’s time to Occupy Pharma, before tin soldiers in powder blue helmets show up! I’m reminded of the 60's and the words "tin soldiers and Nixon coming". Sometimes we have a premonition of events foretold. We are spiritual beings, after all. These are times that try men's souls.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/10/its-time-to-occupy-pharma-government-blames-parents-for-low-gardasil-vaccine-uptake-expands-routine-.html

I strongly support medical freedom. The Canary Party supports medical freedom. The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons supports medical freedom. An AAPS lifetime member (U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, MD) is running for U.S. President.

http://nccn.net/~wwithin/belkin.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GXtQfXBAmM&feature=related
http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/solutions/back-to-school.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRX4R9cYeDQ
http://www.ushistory.org/paine/crisis/c-01.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbE88gNl4NU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[csmith293]

02:57 PM on 11/20/2011

My daughter has been sick for over 3 1/2 years now! No doctor or test can tell us whats wrong with her. The only think I know is that the pain started right after the vaccine and things just got worse. The list of problems she has is to much to bare. Thank God she only recieved 1 of the shots, I have no doubt in my mind that the second or third would have killed her. This vaccine needs to be taken off the market. Someone needs to help all of our girls that are suffering. Parents who are considering this terrible vaccine, PLEASE DO THE RESEARCH. I wish I had.

[Dyson]

10:52 AM on 11/21/2011

I am truly sorry if this is the case that your daughter is in her condition because of a reaction to the vaccine. If so, it is hard to be detatched and to appreciate that your situation is a rare exception, rather than being the rule.

For others wondering about the risks involved, perhaps I could raise the issue of annual deaths in MVAs - 33,000 died on our roads last year. I am sure the grieving relatives of each of these casualties wished the car didn't exist, but to call for it to be banned because someone suffered is disproportionate At last count there were only 32 confirmed deaths following HPV vaccine (40 million doses) and these were felt by investigators to be coincidental. It is a safe vaccine for the vast majority of people.

Alternatively, lookk ahead 25 years. You or your daughters might have got cancer, or died from it (4000 deaths annually). Will your relatives be calling out "If only you'd had the vaccine!"

[Taximom5]

08:49 PM on 11/28/2011

Dyson, there are many of us who keep posting that we and our children have had either allergic reactions or severe adverse effects from various vaccines. We were ALL initially told that our situations are rare exceptions. And we ALL have found out that our situations were, in fact, not so rare.

While we may have been the first of those situations that our doctors had encountered, more and more people have experienced exactly these same problems.

How many of us will have to have these problems before it becomes enough of a problem for you to consider it NOT worth it? What right do YOU have to tell all of us that what we have endured is better than a "possible diagnosis of cancer" 25 years down the road?

What right do the vaccine companies have, to protect their profits over OUR health? And why, exactly, are you on their side?

[Twyla]

03:30 AM on 11/20/2011

Here's an interesting article about Gardasil:
http://healthjournalclub.com/gardasil-is-a-bad-idea/

[William Jamison]

02:07 PM on 11/22/2011

I read the article.

What are the author's credentials?

He mentions terms like “DNA insertion”, etc., but as one who knows something about molecular virology, his prose suggests that he knows very little about the topic.

Sadly, the effect of his article may well turn out to be increased suffering and death on the part of young women who may elect not to be vaccinated after having read it.

[Shobha Krishnan]

12:19 PM on 11/19/2011

Dr. Krishnan addresses the HPV controversy in the news

Ever since the FDA approved the HPV vaccine in 2006, its introduction has been embroiled in a medical, social, cultural, and political controversy. This controversy has once again been rekindled in the recent Republican Primary debates between Texas governor, Rick Perry and Congresswoman, Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota, where she emphatically stated that Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil, causes mental retardation.

As a as a physician, a parent, and the author of the award-winning book The HPV Vaccine Controversy: Sex, Cancer, God and Politics (Praeger, 2008), I feel compelled to comment on this issue:

In order to clarify this and help consumers make the best-informed decision before vaccinating, it is helpful to understand the difference between a side effect (caused directly by the vaccine), and an adverse effect (which usually occurs within six weeks after the administration of a vaccine but may or may not be related to the vaccine)....

Read more at http://giahc.org/institute/news-and-updates.html#article-47

http://abcclio.blogspot.com/

October 10th, 2011

[theGBPM]

05:47 PM on 11/20/2011

In order to help consumers make the best-infor­med decision before vaccinatin­g? Don't you think it would be helpful to mention that aluminum, Boric Acid (an insect killer), Polysorbate 80 (causes anaphylactic shock), and Yeast Protein (MSG) are some of the ingredients in the HPV vaccine?

[Dyson]

10:44 AM on 11/21/2011

Would it not also be helpful to point out so that consumers can make a fully informed decision that humans are exposed to these substatnces on a daily basis in doses far in excess of those contained in any vaccine?

[MegaMomSC]

09:37 AM on 11/18/2011

I don't know if Bachmann is right or wrong to get in on the vaccine issue or not, but I did some investigating of my own and decided to have my son vaccinated. He will receive his third and final shot next month.

I've never felt scared or uneasy after he's received the vaccine. He's always acted normally. I assume he will with the third injection as well.

I am sorry for all of these parents who lost their children, whether it can be attributed to Gardisil. I cannot imagine the horrors they have experienced. My thoughts are with them. But, I am still going to get the final Gardisil injection for Cameron.

[Taximom5]

09:10 PM on 11/28/2011

MeganMomSC, I am curious.

Would you feel scared and uneasy ONLY if he has an adverse reaction to the vaccine? Does the fact that others have had reactions not concern you at all?

I can't understand that, after learning that SOME people have had very severe adverse effects to all kinds of vaccines, not just Gardasil, you would just assume that everything would be fine for your child.

I just can't understand your mind set.

Even before I knew just how many people have adverse reactions to vaccines, even before I knew that they contain a slew of ingredients that are, according to several chemists I know, risky at best, and a recipe for disaster at worst, even when my pediatrician told me that adverse reactions were very rare--I was always just a tiny bit uneasy after a vaccine visit, and always greatly relieved if there were no major complications.

I can't imagine NOT feel uneasy, knowing that 1400 people have had vaccine-induced brain damage that was admitted and compensated in Vaccine Court, and that 200 people in France proved that their MS was caused by Hepatitis B vaccine, which was then pulled off the recommended schedule.

I don't understand how you can NOT have any doubts or worries about having your son injected with the new Gardasil vaccine, when even one of the lead researchers who developed the vaccine has expressed doubts about both safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

[Sylmom]

08:45 AM on 11/17/2011

There seems to be some confusion here. Parents have the legal and moral right to decide if they want their child vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease. Adults can make their own decisions, but for minors, it is up to the parents to decide. To say that this vaccine has been aggressively marketed is the understatement of the century! From Perry trying to mandate it for little girls, to now California taking away parental rights via AB 99, which allows children 12 and up get Gardisil for free without parental consent or knowledge. We probably have never seen heavier lobbying on any other drug or product. There are severe side effects from this drug, and you cannot sue for damages. Parents are absolutely right to be outraged at this.

[angiedailey628]

01:13 PM on 11/17/2011

http://vactruth.com/2011/10/26/hpv-vaccine-cancer-repackaged-as-an-std/?utm_source=The+Vaccine+Truth+Newsletter&utm_campaign=79467def69-09_05_2011_O%27Shea&utm_medium=email

[William Jamison]

10:18 PM on 11/17/2011

The CDC notes that the FDA has licensed the vaccines as safe and effective. "Both vaccines were tested in thousands of people around the world. These studies showed no serious safety concerns. Common, mild adverse events reported during these studies include pain where the shot was given, fever, dizziness, and nausea," according to the CDC website.

So you see, Sylmom, you're just plain wrong.

To say that "(t)here are severe side effects from this drug..." is absolutely incorrect.

[sabelmouse]

07:50 AM on 11/17/2011

it would be really useful if people could separate the issues of their disdain for bachman/her politics and the question of whether this vaccine is save, has been tested enough and should be mandated.

[justlw]

09:48 AM on 11/17/2011

My "disdain" in this case is not for Bachmann as a person, or for her politics, but for her willful spread of unfounded anecdotes as a response to the issue.

Reasonable people may debate whether this is an effective vaccine, and the states' role in mandating its use. She is not debating, she is fomenting.

(offtopic: Is "emty" in your micro bio supposed to be all ironical and stuff?)

[sabelmouse]

11:39 AM on 11/17/2011

some of us are happy she got the discussion going even though so much of it is side tracked.

[theGBPM]

06:23 PM on 11/17/2011

Bachmann is a politician, she stood up for a position, whether she debates with others is not her problem. Also it is the vaccine pushers who willfully spread unfounded anecdotes quoting only the CDC, the FDA and Big Pharma doctors who have big money riding on the public acceptance of vaccines. All their data is skewed. Yes the CDC the FDA and Big Pharma all publish false information, all it takes is a little research into independant sources who don't have a stake in vaccinations to discover that their vaccinations are just medical and scientific quackery.

[Twyla]

12:17 AM on 11/17/2011

Reminds me of the NPR story about Merck's marketing of fosomax, a drug meant to prevent osteoporosis but which, it turns out, can cause bones to break:
"How A Bone Disease Grew To Fit The Prescription"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121609815
"Rare Fractures Linked To Drugs For Weak Bones"
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134064950/rare-fractures-linked-to-drugs-for-weak-bones

This goes way beyond marketing! Vaccines are very profitable.
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Industry-Drivers/Vaccine-market-worth-52bn-in-2016
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Industry-Drivers/Kids-vaccine-market-set-to-quadruple

[Twyla]

12:13 AM on 11/17/2011

Michele Bachman has made some excellent points about Gardasil, namely:
- Parents must be able to make decisions about vaccines with/for their minor children (and adults for themselves). These are personal medical decisions, and we live with the consequences. In the event of adverse reactions, families report having a hard time finding helpful treatments from mainstream medicine. And the vaccine compensation system moves very slowly, turning down the majority of claims.
- Some people truly are suffering the "ravages" of Gardasil. See the links I posted in my prior comment, such as http://truthaboutgardasil.org/injuries/
- Commenters below mock Ms. Bachman for saying, "we can't sacrifice the health of even one child on the altar (for) profits for some big drug company," but that is actually a very good point. Yes, as some have pointed out, companies are supposed to make profits, but in the vaccine arena pharma company profits influence politicians, doctors, medical journals, and government agencies. One of researcher Diane Harper's criticisms is that Merck's ad campaign is misleading. The NY Times has written about the very aggressive marketing of Gardasil: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/health/policy/20vaccine.html?pagewanted=all

[Kimberly Presthus]

09:56 PM on 11/16/2011

Seriously people???? Jessica is one of my friends and I have seen the before and after of the vaccine. Its real, and that vaccine is dangerous. Have any of you done any research on sites or places that dont support the vaccine? Instead of attacking someone who is a victim go out and find some real answers, grow up, and act like adults.

[xfsdfg]

03:09 PM on 11/21/2011

As a student who has sat through one of the top Immunology classes in the country I can tell you that your statment is both arrogant and detrimental to human society. The FDA approved gardasil for a reason, because its safe. Your friend got sick from something else besides Gardasil and the fact is that it was a horrible coincidence and I am sorry. 40 million people have taken the vaccine already and it is incredibly effective with no serious side effects. Stop listening to politicians trying to advance their political agenda through fear. The vaccine doesn't even carry the live virus, therefore you cannot contract the disease this way.

[Hoochie]

03:17 PM on 01/24/2012

The FDA approved a lot of prescription drugs that the CDC reported have been linked to death and other adverse effects. That statement is fact. The CDC has linked Gardasil to deaths. I think to pretend the FDA is infallible is "both arrogant and (could be) detrimental to human society" if anyone believed you. That last statement is opinion from a student of life, who has thus far sat through that class for 66 years. I haven't heard anyone claim you can "contract the disease" from the vaccine. I have heard and am hearing increasingly that the vaccine is blamed for some deaths, paralysis, loss of memory, pain, etc. Regardless what the politicians' or Big Pharma's agendas are, the reports from the CDC are a cause for concern that should not be considered arrogant.

[Fallon ForteSharvit]

07:02 PM on 11/16/2011

Stupidity also seems to be ravaging the gene pool.

[Taximom5]

05:56 PM on 11/16/2011

Well, Discover magazine got it right, anyway:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2011/11/14/should-boys-be-given-the-hpv-vaccine-the-science-is-weaker-than-the-marketing/

[Dyson]

07:14 PM on 11/16/2011

The article, by a journo sympathetic to antivax and AIDS denialist viewpoints, and which distorts and misinterprets the findings, agrees with you, so therefore it is "right".
Hmmm.

[Bike Commuter]

07:30 PM on 11/16/2011

Or not. Here is an analysis of just some of the problems with that misleading blog. http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2011/11/is_the_hpv_vaccine_weak_scienc.php

[zatonoichi]

05:23 PM on 11/16/2011

Poor, sad, deluded, unpopular Michele, maven of the whackadoodle fringe of republican reality-deniers. She should have gotten herself vaccinated against Creutsfeldt-Jakob Encephalopathy, or CJD. She appears to be in the end stages now.
In case you haven't heard of this horrible disease, CJD is the human variant of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. Check it out, and see if the symptoms don't match Bachmann's MO to a "T":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creutzfeldt%E2%80%93Jakob_disease