The HPV Vaccine-- What They Don't Want You To Know

Before I begin, let me first say that I am not a doctor, nor am I an employee of a rival pharmaceutical company. I’m a mom to two young girls, determined to do whatever I can to ensure their safety. When it comes to Big Pharma I am an admitted cynic. With the push (temporarily abandoned) to mandate the Gardasil vaccine, I felt it was my duty to my kids to check out the claims concerning the new HPV – human papilloma virus- vaccine. The following represents a portion of what I found with just a bit of research.

There are, depending upon the source, anywhere between 120 and 300 strains of HPV. Of these, there are 15 strains of the cancer causing type. Merck’s vaccine, Gardasil, targets 4 strains of HPV, two that are the cancer causing type—HPV types 16 and 18, and two targeted strains that cause genital warts. So out of the 15 strains that can cause cancer, the vaccine only protects against two… does that seem like good odds to you?

I then moved on to read the patient insert which is available through the FDA and Merck websites. In its own literature Merck states, “Cervical cancer prevention focuses on routine screening and early intervention. This strategy has reduced cervical cancer rates by 75% in compliant individuals by monitoring and removing pre-malignant dysplastic lesions.” Okay Merck, why then do we need to buy this vaccine if our daughters can avoid cervical cancer by getting yearly pap smears and having any abnormal cells frozen off?

The theory behind mandated vaccination is to prevent highly communicable and potentially fatal diseases like diphtheria, whooping cough, measles and small pox from decimating the population, or at the very least, from reaching pandemic proportions. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. It is not airborne. It cannot be transmitted through casual contact. If a young woman is sexually active, why not just advocate the use of a condom which would protect her from STD’s as well as unwanted pregnancy?

Additionally, Gardasil, much like the varicella vaccine given for chicken pox, only provides peak protection for approximately 5 years before it begins to lose its effectiveness. It typically takes 10 to 15 years for HPV to develop into cancer with most women developing cervical cancer in their 40’s. Remember, the girls in the targeted range for this vaccine are 9-12 year olds. A nine year old receiving this vaccine would be effectively shielded for five years, until the age of fourteen. If that girl is then exposed to the virus, say at the age of seventeen, when she is most at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, the vaccine will be beyond peak protection and offer little, if any, shield against the virus. Will this young girl, operating under a false sense of security, be less likely to have the yearly Pap smear that could detect abnormal cell growth?

And then, consider this—the HPV vaccine is the first vaccine to use a genetically modified live cancer virus. Making matters worse, this drug, tested on 20,000 16-26 year old women, was never tested for efficacy in individuals within the targeted age range of 9-12 year olds. Added to this is the fact that this 20,000 person test group was about half the size of the test groups used to demonstrate safety of other vaccines, like Prevnar, the vaccine used to prevent ear infections.

And then there are the side effects. Since being introduced in June 2006 there have been 385 side effects serious enough to be reported to VAERS (the federal Vaccine Adverse Reporting System). There are experts who estimate that fewer than 10% of adverse events occurring after the use of a prescription drug or vaccine are ever reported to this governmental reporting system. You do the math. If only 10% were reported there could have been as many as 3,800 adverse reactions within the first six months of use that were never reported. Of the 385 adverse events, two-thirds required additional medical care with one-third in children 16 and under. The Center for Disease Control is reporting side-effects involving massive auto-immune responses. Medical News Today quotes NVIC ( National Vaccine Information Center, a vaccine watch-dog group) President Barbara Loe Fisher, “ Because Merck only studied Gardasil in fewer than 1,200 girls under the age of 16… it is critical that doctors and parents be made aware of the nature of the initial adverse events reports… There are twice as many children collapsing and four times as many children experience tingling and numbness [as those receiving the DTaP]. There have been reports of facial paralysis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Any doctors who give Gardasil in combination with other vaccines (other than Hepatitis B) are basically conducting experiments on their young patients…”

Fainting episodes are so common that doctors are now being advised to inoculate their patients while they are lying down. “About 4 reports per day were filed with VAERS in December 2006 for the HPV vaccine,” said NVIC Health Policy Analyst Vicky Debold R.N. PhD, as quoted in Medical News Today. “Some of these girls are getting injured when they collapse after receiving the vaccine and others are complaining of neurological symptoms that should not be ignored… To avoid unnecessary injuries, teenage girls should be vaccinated lying down, not be left unattended, and probably should not walk or drive themselves home from the doctor’s office after they get vaccinated. “

Medical News Today also reports that in a May 18, 2006 report, the FDA staff stated that Merck clinical trial data indicated “…a potential for Gardasil to enhance cervical disease in subjects who had evidence of persistent infection with relevant HPV types prior to vaccination.” Young girls and women now receiving the vaccine are not tested for active HPV infection before vaccination thereby leaving them vulnerable to the vaccine actually causing them to develop cancer.

Barbara Loe Fisher articulates the concerns regarding this vaccine, “How many girls are really having short-term health problems associated with this vaccine that could turn into long-term neurological or immune system disorders? And how many will go on to develop fertility problems, cancer, or damage to their genes, all of which Merck admits in its product insert that it has not studied at all? We just don’t know enough to be mandating Gardasil for anyone, much less 11 to 12 year old girls entering puberty.”

So let’s review, Gardasil doesn’t offer long-term cervical cancer protection, it doesn’t protect against all the cancer causing HPV strains, it has potentially serious side-effects, it could actually increase the incidence of cervical cancer in certain instances, and no one knows whether there will be long-term neurological or genetic damage as a result of being vaccinated.

If all of that doesn’t make you think twice, do a Google search of the bill Senator Bill Frist sponsored, nick-named “Bioshield Two”, that effectively stripped the public of its right to sue the manufacturer of a mandated vaccine. If you knew that a car manufacturer could never be sued for allowing serious safety defects would you purchase one of their cars? Will you let a pharmaceutical company convince you to inject your daughters with a genetically modified live cancer virus knowing that the company has little legal incentive, if the vaccine becomes mandated, to guarantee the safety of your child??? For me, the answer is easy…

Other sources of interest:

Cancer Virus Vaccine Targets Wrong Age Group - Washington Times

Merck's Gardasil Vaccine Not Proven Safe For Little Girls

Merck and FDA "Not Completely Honest"

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Feb 20:

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