Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

The Green Valley News & Sun recently published a column by Dr. Charles Barta, a retired physician and medical director for health care insurers. He also previously served in a management position with Pfizer pharmaceutical company, in the Medical Systems Division. This physician weighed in on the benefits vs. risks of the Gardasil vaccine, manufactured by Merck & Company and marketed as a preventive treatment against cervical cancer. Merck recommends the vaccine for girls as young as 9, and many states are jumping on the bandwagon to mandate the vaccine for school-age children. Dr. Barta warns that the risks of Gardasil may outweigh any possible benefits, and cautions against a knee-jerk reaction advocating for mandatory vaccinations.

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A recent study, funded by Merck Research Laboratories, a division of Merck & Company, which manufactures and markets the Gardasil vaccine, is touting the drug for use not only as protection against cervical cancer, but also to prevent genital warts and other low-grade cervical growths. The study uses its findings to also promote expansion of the drug’s target market to include boys and young men. Previously, the drug has been targeted at girls beginning at age 9.

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Recently a young woman posed a question to the “Ask the Expert” section on the Healthy Women (HW) website. The site is the nation’s leading independent health information source for women, providing information and answers about women’s personal health care questions for more than 20 years. The 32-year-old woman said she asked her health care provider about an HPV test, but the doctor told her she doesn’t need it, and she wondered why.  HPV stands for human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. Isn’t all preventive testing a good thing, she wondered? The answer may surprise you.

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Missiouri Governor Jay Nixon recently signed House Bill 1375, which will provide funding for educational materials about human papillomavirus (HPV) and its connection to cervical cancer to young women and their parents. According to information about the bill on the official website for the governor’s office, the legislation requires the development of a brochure regarding HPV that will promote immunization for girls and boys. Currently, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co., is the vaccine administered in the U.S. for the prevention of HPVs linked to cervical cancer.

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Especially at this time of year, with the new school season about to start, the issue of childhood vaccinations comes to the forefront. Schools require a number of vaccinations before children can begin classes. The goal, of course, is to keep kids safe. Vaccines are designed to protect children from diseases like chicken pox and mumps – illnesses that can easily spread among children if they are not prevented. Most parents, while concerned about giving their children any type of medical treatments, feel fairly comfortable with administering standard childhood vaccines. However, in 2006 a new type of preventive vaccine was proposed for young girls, which caused concern on many levels. The vaccine is Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co.

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After seeing a story on his local Albuqurerque, N.M., news about a 16-year-old girl suffering from a variety of brain-injury symptoms, a local doctor volunteered to provided specialized treatment at no charge. The story, which ran on KOAT 7 News about three months ago, featured Alexis Wolf. Her mother said the girl was stricken with debilitating symptoms like violent seizures, vomiting, pain and insomnia after receiving two in a series of three Gardasil shots. Gardasil is a vaccine created by Merck & Co., and marketed as a preventive measure against cervical cancer.

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Two mothers whose daughters were disabled after receiving the Gardasil vaccine created a website to raise awareness and provide a forum for others to share their stories and find help. Marian Greene and Rosemary Mathis both live in North Carolina and had their daughters vaccinated at around the same time. Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co., is promoted as a preventive against cervical cancer. These moms thought they were protecting their children. But within days of receiving the vaccine, both girls experienced serious side effects that left them debilitated.

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The Associated Press reported today that U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co., which manufactures the controversial HPV vaccine Gardasil, among other drugs, has entered into a partnership with China-based pharmaceutical company Sinopharm to market vaccines and other products. According to the report, the joint venture will focus primarily on expanding Merck’s product reach to China’s population of more than 1 billion people.

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The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has released new guidelines advising against annual Pap tests for women younger than age 21. The agency says younger girls will generally only show evidence of  human papillomavirus (HPV), which it says rarely leads to cervical cancer for women younger than 21. The findings were reported by MSNBC.

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Washington Examiner opinion editor Barbara Hollingsworth raises an interesting question about Merck’s cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil: If 52 deaths linked to sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles prompted massive, multi-billion-dollar recalls, then why is Gardasil still administered to thousands of school-age girls when it has been linked to 49 deaths in a briefer time span?

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