The hot topic on the talk radio circuit here in DC lately has been whether to make vaccination against the human papillloma virus mandatory for school-age girls. The subject, predictably, has brought out the crazies—but it’s also been a good month for airing some legitimate concerns.
Sometime this week, the DC city council is slated to vote on such a mandatory-vaccination bill. Events here in DC might reflect events going on across the country, since similar bills are pending in about 24 states.
The council members behind the bill have acted firmly and swiftly—lining up vaccine advocates to testify in favor of the bill, and soundly thrashing anyone who opposes it. For instance, at a city council meeting I went to last February, one councilman harshly criticized the city’s Children’s Hospital for failing to take a stance on mandatory vaccination.“I am taken back and disappointed,” he said.
But the council might not have bargained for the skepticism in the community. Most callers on the talk shows are against mandatory use, and the fear of vaccines and the pharmaceutical industry is alarming, with words like “sterilization campaign” and “experimentation on our children” being thrown around the airwaves.
Merck didn’t exactly engender confidence among skeptics with its heavy-handed lobbying campaign—which it has since shrewdly withdrawn—for compulsory vaccination with its HPV vaccine, Gardasil (for a great perspective on this see the March editorial in Nature Biotechnology).
To find out more about opposition to the vaccine, I went to a community forum on it at a local library back in March. As expected, representatives of religious groups, such as the Archdiosese of Washington, attended—presumably concerned that the vaccine could lead to promiscuity among young girls.
But the religious folks didn’t say much, because they didn’t need to. The anti-Merck, anti-pharmaceutical industry rhetoric was out in force—it had passed no one by that Merck was behind the Vioxx scandal a few years ago. A few people ventured into full-blown conspiracy scenarios,
“This is a recombinant vaccine, made by GENE SPLICING,” said one participant, “It changes the entire structure of the human race.”
While that might be exaggerated, other arguments against mandatory vaccination were more sane and well-reasoned. Most compelling to me was the argument that the long-term efficacy is unknown (for more on this and related issues see our news story). Studies show the vaccine protects for a few years, but whether girls vaccinated at age 11 will be protected if they become sexually active in their late teens seems unclear—given this uncertainty, is worth the public health investment?
Even some members of the CDC panel that recommended voluntary vaccination are skeptical that it’s time for mandatory measures.
While we aren’t in danger of changing the entire structure of the human race, I can understand the reasons for caution—if only to give people time to get used to a new type of vaccine in their doctors’ offices.
Gardasil Vaccine: So far 3 deaths and 1,637 Adverse Reaction Reports to FDA
Opponents to Gardasil say things like:
“This vaccine should not be mandated for 11-year-old girls…. It’s not been tested in little girls for efficacy. At 11, these girls don’t get cervical cancer—they won’t know for 25 years if they will get cervical cancer. Giving it to 11-year-olds is a great big public health experiment.” Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher, HPV vaccine development
Objections Listed:
1. The vaccine is costly. ($360 for series of three shots)
2. Lack of testing in 9–13 yr olds.
3. Lack of evidence of duration of protection (estimated duration of 5 years).
4. Efficacy has not been demonstrated and is unknown. In fact, there’s already been talk of the need for booster shots.
5. Benefit of Gardasil to 9–13 year olds is dubious. Cervical Cancer affects 45-55 year olds, 40 years later.
6. Questionable Safety when used in conjunction with other vaccines (Hep B and Meningitis ).
7. High rate of vaccine injury: the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is showing considerable serious injury from this vaccine, especially neurological and immune dysfunction. Included are reports of collapse, paralysis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, dizziness, vomiting, rash, syncope, seizures and headache.
8. Gardasil may actually cause an increase in cervical cancer due to a false feeling of security in the females who receive it and decline PAP smears.
9. Gardasil does not guarantee safety from HPV: Regular Pap screening tests with their incumbent costs will still be needed.
10. The incidence of cervical cancer is low, and it would cost $360 million to pay for vaccine to prevent only 1–2 deaths.
11. HPV is usually benign: The virus clears up on its own within 8–12 months.
12. Pap screening already works and has been very effective in reducing cervical cancer rates.
13. Gardasil gives the wrong message to kids about sex and may encourage promiscuity.
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Guard Your Daughter from Gardasil
Jeffrey Dach MD
My daughter receive her first shot of the Gardasil on 11/20/07,then the second on 12/20/09 four weeks too soon this made her extremely ill, she was hospitalized 3 times because of this and is still having health problems,being seen by 2 doctors (neuro and gastro doctors). If you are taking certain medication should not take this vaccine?
i did the first dose of gardasil and had a really bad experience
i got all numb on both legs and chest and had a hard time breathing
i then got rushed to the hospital.
i dont recommend this needle for teens, i find it pointless
Like so many others my daughter got extremely sick from the Gardasil shot. It wasn’t until after the second shot I realized it was the shot itself that almost killed her. She had everything from flu like systoms to paralysis and siezures. She failed most of her classes that year and she has never been the same. We are at the doctor’s office all the time because she is sick all the time now. I thank god I did not have the third shot. I wish I looked into this shot before saying sure, great, lets get her vaccinated!
You try and do your best to protect them, now this! What a nightmare it has been. Merck knows all of this but Merck is making way too much money to stop now. Please do not get this vaccine. Your daughters are fine without it. It is a bunch of crap. I don’t understand why it is still on the market. Maybe the FDA and the CDC can answer that someday.