You might want to think twice before getting your daughter vaccinated. Sure, the government and many physicians have recommended that girls and young women receive the HPV vaccine. But it may have been plugged prematurely. With over 8,000 (and growing) reports of adverse effects, many are now wondering if the vaccine poses health risks of its own. From nausea to paralysis to death, many parents, physicians and patient advocates are raising the alarm.
Controversial since its debut in June 2006, Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil has been administered to millions of girls and women worldwide. Recommended for females ages 9 to 26, it is meant to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts. Proponents hope that it will prove itself a lifesaver. About 3,500 women die annually from cervical cancer.
I haven't publicly shared my opinions on this vaccine, but I've always felt uneasy about it. Drug companies have proven themselves a bit too eager to roll out their latest product, with the general public ultimately becoming their guinea pigs. I have told people in my personal circle that, if I had a daughter, I would not have her vaccinated. This vaccine is still so new. There's so much we don't know. And there are no guarantees.
While there are over 100 different types of HPV strains, at least 30 of which can cause genital warts, the vaccine only targets four of them. Two of these strains - 6 and 11 - cause approximately 90% of genitals warts. Strains 16 and 18 cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. As with other new vaccines, it's unclear how long the protection will last at this point.
Another issue at play is the fact that we simply don't know enough about the vaccine, specifically, its long-term effects. Gardasil contains aluminum and nobody knows how that may eventually impact a female's fertility. Furthermore, the vaccine has not been tested as far as how it may interact with other childhood vaccinations.
Finally, with the number of cervical cancer deaths decreasing every year, you have to wonder if Gardasil's benefits outweigh the risks. Medicine is doing really well with Pap smears and other screening tests, which all women should have regardless of vaccination status. Women can still get cervical cancer, even despite the vaccine.
So what are the risks of vaccination?
Parents, health practitioners, and public interest group Judicial Watch are reporting cases of:
o Chronic illness
o Nausea and vomiting
o Fevers, pain, and itching
o Pancreatitis
o Massive wart outbreaks (Gardasil can make HPV symptoms even worse!)
o Seizures
o Muscle weakness and trouble breathing
o Autoimmune disorders, like Guillain-Barré syndrome
o Brain inflammation
o Paralysis and Bell's palsy
o Spontaneous abortion and fetal abnormalities
Of 18 deaths under investigation due to the timing of vaccination, nearly one-quarter cite "blood clots."
Yet Merck, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claim that Gardasil is safe and effective - that there is no direct link to any illnesses reported after vaccinations or deaths. In their view, Gardasil seems safer than most vaccines with its reported serious side effects "half the average." In their view, these potential adverse effects are simply coincidental.
They claim that studies around the world have found no serious side effects so far. If anything, females may experience soreness around the injection site and pass out (which can happen during any type of vaccination). So what's a parent or young woman to do?
As with any vaccine, you need to weigh the pros and cons. You need to solicit expert advice from trusted resources and include your daughter in that conversation. Regardless of what you decide to do, you need to educate yourself and your youth about how HPV is transmitted and what lovers can do to protect themselves from infection. You need to inform your youth of the importance of sexual and reproductive health care, including regular Pap smears. Just don't "sit" as you wait to learn more about HPV vaccines.
The CDC is promising to better scrutinize the data. In the meantime, Merck is facing major lawsuits while trying to convince the FDA to approve Gardasil use for other segments of the population, including your boys.
Follow Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright on Twitter: www.twitter.com/YvonneFulbright
Today's Pap tests are reliable at screening for abnormal cells, and cervical abnormalities that aren't invasive cancer are easy to treat.
Pap tests save lives. What I'd like to find out is, of the 3500 women who die of cervical cancer a year in this country, how many received regular cervical screening?
And what of the 8000 reports of adverse reactions? Merck used an aluminum containing (instead of non-reactive saline) placebo as a control during testing of Gardasil, boosting adverse reactions in control cases. Did they do that so actual adverse reactions to Gardasil would seem less dramatic by comparison?
Teasing out the facts isn't so simple as either side would have one believe. But this one comes up a no-brainer: maintain a healthy immune system, and get regular cervical screenings.
On a personal note, I am a woman who has had regular Paps since adolescence. I am now chronically ill with an autoimmune disease and therefore at risk for cervical dysplasia due to the immunosuppressive drugs I require. I take exception to the no-brainer suggestion that we all simply maintain a healthy immune system, particularly as autoimmune diseases predominantly affect women.
What are the numbers for patients getting the dose in countries that have inadequate reporting mechanisms for adverse effects?
Water...fever...fainting...seizures...chronic illnesses = logic flaw and obiter dictum
You can't protect your children from all harm, you can only do your best to reduce it.
If the CDC says that the vaccine is less risky than the chance of cervical cancer, that's the best option today based on what we know. And that's the best you can ever do.
If you are one of the people who was convinced that mercury in vaccines caused autism - well, they took the mercury out of children's vaccines many years ago now, and new cases of autism were not reduced. No one ever explained how mercury could cause autism, and the research all said it didn't - and now the mercury's gone and autism is as prevalent as it was before.
You were wrong about that, and the researchers were right. Do you want to bet your daughter's life that you are right this time, and the result of all those years of medical research into HPV is wrong?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0317-05.htm
This is an excellent article and I'm really surprised at the reaction of the readers - I would have thought that Huff Post readers would be more well-informed. Not only did none of my friends have their daughters vaccinated, we were just stunned that it was being urged that parents of girls as young as nine have their children vaccinated.
source: Merck dictionary
I'm hardly a wholesale cheerleader of the drug companies, but frankly the anti-vaccination crowd needs to put on their tinfoil hats.
With ANY medical treatment on a large scale, some complications (and, yes, some deaths) are inevitable. Think I'm trivializing this? Look up the number of people who die from accidental aspirin overdose per year; I think you'll find it somewhat larger (both in size and percentage) than the Gardasil death rate.
Medicine is scary, but you counteract fear by getting informed, not by fearmongering.
To H-E-doublehockeysticks with PUBLIC health! It's all about YOU! Sheesh, why should the rest of the people out there expect you to endure the 1 in a MILLION "chance" that you might have some side effects just to eliminate a transmittable disease that KILLS others?
What's next? Laws prohibiting carbon emissions?
Lots of people don't care about actual facts. As one of my gullible friends once said "Sometimes all the medical studies are wrong".
She'll die someday because she trusts homeopathic remedies and won't go to a real doctor.
And guess what? Your friend is going to die someday regardless of whether she goes to a 'real doctor' or not.