Miller Memories: Following Gardasil

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Following Gardasil

I'm still attempting to keep up with news on Merck's new HPV vaccine: Gardasil. It carried the catchy theme "one less" which mis-led most parents into believing the vaccine was simply about cervical cancer rather than about 2 to 4 strains of sexually transmitted diseases which could potentially lead to cervical cancer. Now that thousands of adverse effects (and even deaths) are being reported and some are raising concerns about future fertility issues, many parents are taking pause to reconsider the necessity of this new vaccine: "When you read everybody's stories, they're too similar not to be related."

Judicial Report recently gave a report on more than 8,000 Gardasil reaction reports and a VAERS search shows nearly 6,700 reports of injury and death after Gardasil. Interesting stuff to keep up with:

Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order in February 2007 requiring that all sixth-grade girls get the HPV shot. But angry parents and conservative groups fought the mandate, fearing it condoned premarital sex and took away parental rights. The Legislature defeated the order last April.

The National Vaccine Information Center heralded the decision, saying that testing of the vaccine was not extensive enough in girls under 12. The nonprofit center had already started warning about the possibility of adverse reactions such as extreme fatigue, arthritis and loss of consciousness.