Comments on: Choices now will impact a lifetime: The Gardasil Debate http://www.bloggernews.net/17122 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:09:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: lmcgraw http://www.bloggernews.net/17122#comment-295635 lmcgraw Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:28:22 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/17122#comment-295635 While there are no long term studies and it is possible that Merck may have distorted the efficacy of the Gardasil vaccine, it still has some efficacy. With regard to safety, the Gardasil vaccine uses a revolutionary method of achieving immunization, preventing any possible transfer of the HPV genetic material (unlike the majority of vaccines, which use live-attenuated viruses). In theory, this should be safer than a normal MMR vaccine. In addition, HPV, while most often transmitted through sexual activity, can be transmitted by normal skin contact. People can get warts on any part of their body, not just in the genital area, and most of these warts are caused by some form of HPV. In addition, the strains of HPV that Gardasil protects against have been implicated in a number of other rare, but serious, cancers, including a cancer of the tonsils. HPV is a serious virus, and while much of abstaining from sex, it is unrealistic in today's society to expect the majority of the population to do so. Even the use of condoms does not give full protection against HPV. Despite the lack of long term studies, this vaccine has been shown to reduce the incidences of HPV contraction, in particular the strains that cause (or a implicated in) every case of cervical cancer. It's time for people to wake up and recognize that this could save lives. While there are no long term studies and it is possible that Merck may have distorted the efficacy of the Gardasil vaccine, it still has some efficacy. With regard to safety, the Gardasil vaccine uses a revolutionary method of achieving immunization, preventing any possible transfer of the HPV genetic material (unlike the majority of vaccines, which use live-attenuated viruses). In theory, this should be safer than a normal MMR vaccine.
In addition, HPV, while most often transmitted through sexual activity, can be transmitted by normal skin contact. People can get warts on any part of their body, not just in the genital area, and most of these warts are caused by some form of HPV. In addition, the strains of HPV that Gardasil protects against have been implicated in a number of other rare, but serious, cancers, including a cancer of the tonsils.
HPV is a serious virus, and while much of abstaining from sex, it is unrealistic in today’s society to expect the majority of the population to do so. Even the use of condoms does not give full protection against HPV. Despite the lack of long term studies, this vaccine has been shown to reduce the incidences of HPV contraction, in particular the strains that cause (or a implicated in) every case of cervical cancer. It’s time for people to wake up and recognize that this could save lives.

]]> By: Pam Martens http://www.bloggernews.net/17122#comment-30460 Pam Martens Sat, 26 May 2007 12:13:28 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/17122#comment-30460 Here are other facts (devoid of Merck spin): 1. This vaccine was never tested for efficacy on young girls. 2. This vaccine was tessted for safety among young girls using just a few hundred children. 3. The FDA acknowledged in its licensure letter to Merck that insufficient safety and efficacy studies had been done on young girls and required them to do more; creating a defacto mass scale human science experiment on young girls. 4. The potential that adverse events were greatly masked in Merck's clinical trials exists because they used aluminum in the placebo instead of just saline. 5. Five health experts, including two most recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, have issued warnings on Gardasil and exposed Merck's dramatically exaggerated claims for efficacy. 6. Judicial Watch (yes, a conservative group but I'm a progressive and former Board member of NOW-NYC) has reported, correctly, that 3 females who took Gardasil have died in the U.S., one a 12 year old child and another within 3 hours of receiving the vaccine. 7. The U.S. government's own web site, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is showing over 1600 adverse events after receiving Gardasil including one acute kidney failure, one life threatening case of throat swelling, multiple cases of seizures, convulsions and paralysis. 8. These dangers ARE NOT justified for a vaccine which has no long term studies. Merck did not prove that Gardasil prevents cervical cancer because cervical cancer takes 8 to 12 years or longer to develop and its longest studies of Gardasil were 5 years or less. Here are other facts (devoid of Merck spin):

1. This vaccine was never tested for efficacy on young girls.

2. This vaccine was tessted for safety among young girls using just a few hundred children.

3. The FDA acknowledged in its licensure letter to Merck that insufficient safety and efficacy studies had been done on young girls and required them to do more; creating a defacto mass scale human science experiment on young girls.

4. The potential that adverse events were greatly masked in Merck’s clinical trials exists because they used aluminum in the placebo instead of just saline.

5. Five health experts, including two most recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, have issued warnings on Gardasil and exposed Merck’s dramatically exaggerated claims for efficacy.

6. Judicial Watch (yes, a conservative group but I’m a progressive and former Board member of NOW-NYC) has reported, correctly, that 3 females who took Gardasil have died in the U.S., one a 12 year old child and another within 3 hours of receiving the vaccine.

7. The U.S. government’s own web site, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is showing over 1600 adverse events after receiving Gardasil including one acute kidney failure, one life threatening case of throat swelling, multiple cases of seizures, convulsions and paralysis.

8. These dangers ARE NOT justified for a vaccine which has no long term studies. Merck did not prove that Gardasil prevents cervical cancer because cervical cancer takes 8 to 12 years or longer to develop and its longest studies of Gardasil were 5 years or less.

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