Manufactured by Merck & Co., Gardasil is promoted as a vaccination to protect young women against cervical cancer. What the drug actually does is guard against four out of about 40 types of human papillomavirus, or HPV. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus linked to the development of cervical cancer. Recently, recommended use of Gardasil has been expanded to include vaccinations for boys and young men, also for the prevention and spread of HPV.

However, since its introduction in 2006, Gardasil has been linked to a number of serious adverse events, including seizures and auto-immune disorders. More than 50 young women have died shortly after receiving the Gardasil vaccine.

In addition to these reports, SaneVax, Inc., is concerned about potential HPV vaccine-induced increased risks of cancer.There have been 283 cases of post-vaccination abnormal PAP smears reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), with more reports of high-risk HPV, cervical lesions and cervical cancer also beginning to be recorded following vaccinations with Gardasil. Also, data collected by the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) indicate exposure to HPV prior to vaccination with Gardasil raises a woman’s risk of cervical cancer by 44.6 percent.

SaneVax will operate a comprehensive website with news, research, videos, profiles of victims, a forum and more. It also plans to offer affordable, highly sensitive HPV testing using specific genotyping by DNA sequencing for pre- and post-vaccination.

“Pre- and post-HPV testing is crucial to identify whether a young woman has already been exposed to HPV, and to try and understand the mechanisms of action causing the injury and death of innocent girls after innoculation,” says SaneVax, Inc., board member Leslie Carol Botha, a Women’s Health educator and broadcast journalist.

Other board members include Norma Erickson (Chairman of the Board); Rosemary Mathis, who believes her daughter was injured by the Gardasil vaccine; Freda Birrell, political lobbyist int he UK and Scotland; and Janny Stokvis, vaccine researcher. They hope to expand the mission of SaneVax, Inc., to eventually include research, studies and data on all vaccines marketed in the United States.

For more information, visit sanevax.org or email info@sanevax.org.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

Some have already suggested boys ought to be included in Gardasil vaccinations, in order to limit the possibility of their spreading the virus to their partners when they become sexually active. The FDA has recently approved the use of Gardasil in boys, but only to prevent genital warts. HPV also has now been linked to the development of penile and anal cancer.

According to a recent story on Forbes. com, the link between HPV and throat cancer has only come about in the last few years, with researchers believing it may be linked to oral sex. According to the report, there are approximately 11,300 HPV-related throat cancers diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Throat cancer has traditionally been linked to smoking and drinking alcohol.

However, since Gardasil’s introduction in 2006 for the treatment of cervical cancer, there have been a number of troubling developments. The drug has been linked to a number of serious adverse events reported by young women shortly after receiving the vaccine, which is usually given in a series of three shots. Adverse events have been reported after receiving one or more of the shots. These side effects have included such serious problems as blood clots, seizures and auto-immune disorders. There also have been more than 50 reports of young women who have died shortly after receiving the Gardasil vaccine.

Even if there are no side effects, some physicians are questioning the benefit of the vaccine. About 90 percent of HPV infections are cleared naturally by the body, never developing into pre-cancerous lesions or cancer. For girls, regular Pap tests can usually detect any pre-cancerous lesions and treat them before they develop into cancer. And, generally all papilloma viruses are slow-moving, with any pre-cancerous lesions they cause developing over time, more easy to find and diagnose before they cause a problem.

Unfortunately, it is not as easy to detect such lesions in the throat, which some researchers argue is a positive in favor of the HPV vaccination. However, it also makes studies that would determine the effectiveness of a vaccine like Gardasil for the treatment of throat cancer much more difficult to determine. Without effective clinical trials with easy to measure results, it is unlikely the FDA would grant approval to the vaccine for this type of use.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

Dr. Barta acknowledges that the Gardasil vaccine is effective against four types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), two of which are linked to 70 percent of cervical cancers. HPV is transmitted sexually. However, he points out, data supports the fact that about 90 percent of HPV cases are cured by the body’s own defenses, never developing into cancer. Additionally, medical evidence bears out that cervical cancer is an extremely slowly developing cancer, and that women who receive regular PAP tests can be easily diagnosed, treated and cured when early pre-cancerous indicators are detected.

“When the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, geared to low-income women, was implemented, a dramatic drop in cervical cancer resulted,” he writes. “Most cervical cancer deaths occur in women who have never been screened or had a Pap smear within the last five years. The cure for cervical cancer is largely early detection of cell changes years before a cancer develops,” he says.

On the other hand, any vaccine carries with it inherent risks for adverse events. And, even if young women are not injured by the vaccine, Dr. Barta points out that mandatory vaccinations at the very least will incur huge economic costs.

“Even if Gardasil proves to be completely safe, is there evidence of benefits above regular screening to justify the huge cost of widespread vaccinations?” he asks.

Because the effectiveness of Gardasil is estimated to last only about five years, girls would not only need to receive the initial series of vaccines, but also theoretically some type of booster shot after its efficacy period. Also, he points out, the marketing of Gardasil is now being expanded to include young boys and men. This increases the likelihood of additional reports of adverse side effects, as well as additional expense for states mandating the vaccine.

Ultimately, Dr. Barta says, the vaccine doesn’t make sense as a mandatory treatment for young people, as HPV is not communicable in the same way that other childhood illnesses are, or even the flu.

“This is not a communicable disease in the sense that the flu, measles, etc. are,” he writes. “You don’t walk into a crowded room and catch it. A non-sexually active 17-year-old girl can’t catch it.”

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

According to a report on U.S. News & World Report’s Health Day, the study involved a randomized control trial of nearly 18,000 women ages 16-26, and was conducted by the department of medical microbiology at Lund University, Malmo University in Sweden. Researchers report “significant protection” against the warts and other growths in “susceptible women.”

Gardasil entered the scene in2006 as a drug intended to protect young women against the development of cervical cancer by vaccinating against four strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The vaccine is given as a series of three shots. It has an efficacy period of about five years.

However, since its introduction, Gardasil has come under fire as it has been linked to serious adverse events. Parents of young girls who receive the vaccine, or young women who received the vaccine, have reported experiencing side effects after receiving the vaccine, which they blame on the drug. Complaints range from fainting and muscle weakness to serious auto-immune deficiencies, chronic pain, Lupus, blood clots, seizures and even more than 50 reports of deaths. The makers of Gardasil deny any connection to the vaccine.

As of May 31, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received more than 16,000 reports of adverse side effects, reported by consumers through the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). The CDC has record of 53 U.S. reports of death among females who have received Gardasil. Twenty-nine of these reports have been confirmed.

Now, it appears the push is on to add boys to this list. Merck generated more than $1 billion in sales during the first year Gardasil was available. Is it any wonder the drug maker is eager to expand its customer base?

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

The question was medically reviewed by Marie Savard, MD. She said that while many professional organizations, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Cancer Society recommend that women who are older than 30 receive an HPV test, the recommendation says the test should be done in conjunction with a regular Pap test.

“Studies find that the combination of a Pap test and HPV test is the most effective way to find cervical disease and cancer, better than using a Pap alone,” the answer reads. But, they quickly point out, just because a woman receives a positive HPV test, indicating the presence of an HPV, doesn’t mean she will get cancer. “Almost all women clear the virus with the help of their immune systems,” the article says. The presence of HPV only means that a woman’s doctor may want to monitor her more closely for any cell changes that may result from the HPV infection. Regular Pap tests will identify these cells, which can then be safely treated.

This answer may come as a surprise to many women who have been inundated with television ads and other marketing materials touting the benefits of an HPV preventive vaccine, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co. The ads urge women to have the vaccine, or parents to vaccinate their daughters, ensuring they will be “one less” case of cervical cancer. However, the Gardasil vaccine actually only protects against four of nearly 40 types of HPV. While one of these types may lead to the development of cervical cancer, generally, as Dr. Savard pointed out, the body’s own immune system will clear most types of HPV before they cause a problem, and regular Pap tests can detect irregular cells for effective treatment before any cervical cancer develops.

Additionally, since its introduction in 2006, Gardasil has been associated with a number of adverse event reports, including incidents of paralysis and the development of lupus. There also have been more than 50 reports of deaths linked to young women who received Gardasil.

The medical advice on the Healthy Women website goes on to say that women younger than 30 don’t need HPV tests at all, unless their Pap test indicates a reason why it might be necessary, or is inconclusive, in which case the HPV test can be given as an extra measure of precaution. “Most young women will have an active infection at some point,” the article says, “but the infection will clear up on its own without problems.”

How about “one less” useless and potentially dangerous drug?

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

According to the language in the final version of the legislation, the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services will be responsible for developing “an informational brochure relating to the connection between human papillomavirus and cervical cancer, and that an immunization against the human papillomavirus infection is available.” The legislation says the brochure will be made available on the health department’s website and that the department will notify each public school district in the state of the availability of the materials.

It is unclear whether the new literature will specifically name or endorse the Gardasil vaccine, but the language of the bill suggests that educational materials will imply the vaccine is a true preventive measure against cervical cancer, when in fact the drug only protects against four out of about 40 different types of HPV.

It is also is unclear whether the new literature will clarify that medical professionals say about 90 percent of HPV infections are cleared by the body on its own, making the vaccination largely unnecessary, or whether the literature will outline the many serious adverse events associated with Gardasil. Since its introduction in 2006, Gardasil has been linked to reports of such serious side effects as seizures and lupus. There also have been more than 50 deaths reported following Gardasil vaccinations.

The brochure will include language about the importance of Pap tests in detecting precancerous changes that can develop into cervical cancer.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Robert Cooper (R) and handled in the Senate by Sen. Jolie Justus (D), also allows physicians to prescribe medication for the sexual partners of their patients to treat sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and gonorrhea, a practice known as “expedited therapy.”

Read the Missouri HB1375T.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

In addition to Gardasil, which is marketed to prevent cervical cancer by targeting four types of human papillomavirus (HPV), Sinopharm will help distribute other Merck products including Januvia, for the treatment of diabetes, Cozaar and Hyzaar (heart drugs), Remicade (rheumatoid arthritis) and Singulair and Nasonex (allergy treatments).

According to a Merck news release dated July 27, 2010, the two companies have signed a statement of mutual intent. “Under the statement, Sinopharm and Merck will cooperate on HPV vaccine and other mutually selected vaccine products in China, and will also discuss the potential for promoting and marketing Merck’s pharmaceutical products in China,” the release reads.

The release describes Sinopharm as China’s largest pharmaceutical and health industrial group under State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. It has China’s largest bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing company and China’s largest (the world’s third largest) pharmaceutical distribution company.

Nearly 30 million doses of the Gardasil vaccine have been distributed in the U.S. since 2006, and Merck generates about $1 billion in revenues from the drug annually. It is marketed as a preventive treatment for cervical cancer, protecting against four of 40 strains of HPV. Recently, the drug also was approved for use in boys, to protect against the transmission of HPV and genital warts, which the company says could lead to penile and anal cancers.

However, the drug has come under fire from critics following a series of adverse events in girls who received the vaccine. These include serious side effects like blood clots and muscle weakness. There also have been reports of 53 deaths in girls and women who received Gardasil.

Perhaps most startling, recently one of Gardasil’s own primary researchers, Dr. Diane Harper, said she believes the drug is unnecessary at best, and dangerous at worst. She points out that 90 percent of HPV infections resolve themselves, and that annual Pap tests beginning at age 21 for women are effective at catching and treating precancerous lesions before cervical cancer develops.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

The only exception, according to the ACOG, is for adolescents with compromised immune systems, due to conditions such as HIV infection, organ transplant or long-term steriod use. This group makes up less than 1 percent of adolescents, but they are more at risk that HPV could develop into cancer.

However, the ACOG is quick to say that Pap tests are still the best defense for early detection and treatment of precancerous cells that could eventually lead to cervical cancer. They still recommend women 21 and older undergo regular Pap tests. According to the MSNBC report, cervical cancer rates in the United States have dropped by more than half in the past 30 years, which is largely attributed to cervical cancer screening – the Pap test.

Recently, there has been some debate about a relatively new vaccine offered by Merck pharmaceuticals, Gardasil. The vaccine is promoted as a preventive treatment for cervical cancer, and is being marketed for girls beginning at around age 9-11. The vaccine is given in a series of three shots.

However, Gardasil also has been associated with serious adverse events, including more than 50 reports of deaths that may be linked to the vaccine. Additionally, the vaccine doesn’t last for more than five years, meaning that any potential benefit it might provide is likely to be inactive by the time the girl is old enough to be sexually active. HPV is a virus transmitted through sexual activity.

In fact, at the International Public Conference on Vaccination in 2008, the lead researcher in the development of the Gardasil vaccine, Dr. Diane Harper, stunned the assembled audience when she said the vaccine is unnecessary at best, and dangerous, at worst. She cited the risk of serious side effects as an argument against the drug, and instead recommended the proven protection against cervical cancer – regular Pap tests. She even called Gardasil “a great big public health experiment.”

Pap tests – often also called Pap smears – are effective because HPV is a slow-moving virus, which generally causes pre-cancerous lesions that may develop into cancer over time. A Pap test will detect these pre-cancerous cells, which can be treated.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

Washington Examiner

It’s a rhetorical question, but it makes you wonder if it’s somehow more permissible to be killed or injured by a drug than it is by a defective automobile.

Merck has lobbied federal regulators hard to make Gardasil mandatory for all American schoolgirls. Fortunately, the drug giant’s vision of requiring every girl in the nation to receive its three-tiered shot fell short of becoming law. Although many states require sixth-grade girls to receive the shot, parents have the legal right to refuse it. But very few of them know about the drug’s risks and how it has harmed and occasionally killed perfectly healthy girls.

According to the Washington Examiner, 20-year-old Mary Katherine Davison of Frederick, Maryland, became dizzy and nauseated after receiving her second Gardasil shot in January 2008. Although her two younger sisters had no reactions, Mary Katherine suffered a massive stroke and spent 2 months in rehab re-learning how to walk. Her mother, Mary Davison, said that she made no connection between her daughter’s stroke and Gardasil until Mary Katherine’s doctor refused to schedule her for the final Gardasil shot.

Days later, 17-year-old Jessica Ericzon of Alexandria Bay, New York, collapsed and died on the bathroom floor just 40 hours after receiving her third Gardasil shot. Jessica had complained of pain and dizziness after her second shot, but sadly nobody connected her symptoms to Garsdasil.

21-year-old Christina Tarsell of Sparks, Maryland, received her third Gardasil shot and spent more then 2 weeks feeling dizzy, nauseated and fatigued before she died.

“We had no clue that these were all symptoms of something,” her mother told the Washington Examiner. In all these cases, autopsies and toxicology screenings failed to determine the cause of death.

Naturally, Merck defends its Gardasil vaccine. The pharmaceutical giant also has a powerful ally in the CDC, which officially reported in 2008 that Gardasil recipients didn’t experience negative reactions any more than non-recipients.

That claim, however, was countered by the National Vaccine Information Center, which used the same CDC data to show that Gardasil was linked to “at least four times as many death and cardiac arrest reports” as Cervarix and “seemed to be associated with an unusually high number of reports of atypical collapse.”

“CDC is still saying this is a safe vaccine. With Pap smears, there was no medical reason for fast-tracking FDA approval. They made it (cervical cancer) sound like it was some kind of pandemic,” Christina Tarsell’s mother, Emily, told the Washington Examiner, adding that nobody from the CDC will respond to her calls.

Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Time-for-the-truth-about-Gardasil-89466882.html

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

First, the vaccines are known to have serious risks. The threat of blood clots, seizure, paralysis, outbreak of warts, and sudden death has been documented in thousands of adverse event reports obtained by Judicial Watch under Freedom of Information law. The risks may be small for most of the women and girls who receive the vaccines (administered in a series of three shots), but they are nonetheless real.

Girls and women who are not sexually active are not at risk of contracting HPV. Merck lobbyists pushed to make the shots mandatory for all school girls as young as 9 years old. However, unless those 9-year-olds are sexually active, their chances of becoming infected with HPV and developing cervical cancer are zero.

Women who receive regular pap screenings are at minimal risk of developing cervical cancer because testing will detect precancers if they are present. Precancerous cells can be treated safely and effectively with traditional therapies to prevent the development of cancer.

The incidence of cervical cancer among women who do not receive screening or vaccination is about 90 per 100,000. According to Dr. Diane Harper, who is widely regarded as the top expert on HPV and the Gardasil vaccine, “the combination of HPV vaccine and screening in the U.S. will not decrease the incidence of cervical cancer to any measurable degree at the population level.” That assertion contradicts the claims of some HPV vaccine advocates.

So who might HPV vaccines benefit? Sexually active women who don’t receive regular pap tests would benefit the most, but only if they are willing to assume the risk of being either injured by the vaccine or, in the rare event, killed. For the vast majority of women, the risks of receiving Gardasil or Cervarix vaccinations simply outweigh any benefits.

Sources:

http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=1&t=0&id=23815

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/3228514/Concerned-mum-sets-up-vaccine-site

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

Pap smears are screening tests used by gynecologists to detect cervical cancer cells. Changes in the cell processes signal the development of cervical cancer and prompt the physician to start treatment.

According to Dr. Harper, “Pap smears have never killed anyone. Pap smears are an effective screening tool to prevent cervical cancer. Pap smears alone prevent more cervical cancers than can the vaccines alone.”

“Gardasil is associated with serious adverse events, including death,” Dr. Harper explained. “If Gardasil is given to 11-year-olds, and the vaccine does not last at least 15 years, then there is no benefit – and only risk – for the young girl.”

Without boosters, Gardasil vaccines remain effective for five years.

“Vaccinating will not reduce the population incidence of cervical cancer if the woman continues to get Pap screening throughout her life,” Dr. Harper added.

Dr. Harper told Yerman in a written communication that she disagreed with Merck’s campaign to make the vaccine mandatory for school-age girls.

“The decision to be vaccinated must be the woman’s (or parent’s if it is for a young child), and not the physician’s or any board of health, as the vaccination contains personal risk that only the person can value.”

The choice to receive the Gardasil vaccine “is entirely a personal value judgment,” Dr. Harper said.

When asked about Merck’s “one less” marketing campaign, Dr. Harper told Yerman that it “was designed to incite the greatest fear possible in parents, so that there would be uptake of the vaccine.”

“If women were participating in Pap screening, or if as a parent you educated your daughter to seek Pap screening at the appropriate age (21 years) for her entire life, then she would have been very unlikely to be at risk for being “one” and would not be “one less,” Dr. Harper told Yerman.

“She would not have been ‘one’ to begin with!”

To read the entire interview with Dr. Harper, please click here.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site

Preventative measures and current treatments are already lowering the occurrence of HPV and cervical cancer faster than the vaccination could, Dr. Harper said, explaining that the cervical cancer rate will be reduced more than 91 percent in 60 years time without the vaccination.

But Dr. Harper’s explanation of Gardasil’s uselessness wasn’t as eye-opening or alarming as some of her other allegations. In light of Merck’s aggressive lobbying efforts to make Gardasil mandatory for school-age girls, it’s especially upsetting that Dr. Harper told her audience that the manufacturer never conducted any safety or efficacy trials in girls under 15 years old and that vaccinating young girls en masse amounted to “a great big public health experiment.”

That Merck would develop an unnecessary vaccine, force it on the public, and then take a “wait and see” approach to gauge its safety is unconscionable. One can only imagine the dollar signs Merck’s leadership saw as they looked upon a whole nation of girls unvaccinated against HPV.

Any corporation like Merck that holds the health of millions in its grasp wields a staggering amount of power. It should upset the millions of American moms and dads that Merck regards their young daughters as guinea pigs – the unwitting subjects of a vaccination experiment destined to add billions more dollars to its corporate coffers. How many health professionals and medical organizations have been swayed by Merck’s political lobbying, financial rewards, misinformation and other abuses of that power?

A lot, I suspect. My younger sister has four daughters who range in age from 16 years to 2. When she takes her two oldest daughters for check ups, the pediatrician typically tells her she should have them vaccinated against HPV with injections of Gardasil. Most recently, the doctor pressured my sister to have her 11-year-old vaccinated.

Fortunately, my sister decided to research the vaccine before agreeing to the shots and has said no.

“It’s such a shame that companies are allowed to prey on kids like that,” my sister told me, adding that she is glad she has repeatedly told the doctors “no” to the shots in light of the news that they are dangerous and potentially deadly to some girls.

Since Gardasil first appeared in 2006, 15,037 inoculated girls have reported adverse side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Reactions that have been officially reported include brain inflammation, seizures, blood clots, paralysis, lupus, Guilliane Barre Syndrome, and several others. 44 deaths attributed to the vaccine have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If what Dr. Harper says is true, then all 44 of those deaths were completely unnecessary. That even more women and girls will be sacrificed for Merck’s bottom line as Gardasil shots are unnecessarily doled out is nothing less than criminal.

SOURCE: the Truth about Gardasil">Beasley Allen Case Site