Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co., and Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, are promoted for the prevention of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus linked to the development of cervical cancer. However, the vaccines only treat four of the more than 40 types of HPV, and experts say studies show that the human body naturally eliminates more than 90 percent of HPV infections, making the vaccine irrelevant and redundant. Medical professionals also point out that pre-cancerous lesions can be safely detected with regular annual Pap smears, eliminating the need for the vaccine.

The columnist also points out that the HPV vaccine is controversial because of its spotty safety record. In the United States, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has logged consumer complaints about serious adverse events following the Gardasil vaccine, including pulmonary emabolism and Guillain-Barre syndrome, as well as more than 50 reports of death among girls who received the vaccine. It is estimated that the number of adverse events linked to these vaccines may be even higher, as not everyone who experiences a serious side effect reports it.

Gardasil was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in 2006, and Cervarix by the FDA in 2009.

In addition to its concerns about the efficacy and safety of HPV vaccines, the Consumers Association of Penang is concerned about the plan for the MOH to work in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to administer the vaccine to the school-age girls without providing additional information about the vaccine to their parents. At the very least, Idris says, the MOH must provide parents with the opportunity to exercise their right to informed consent by supplying them with comprehensive information about the vaccination process and the risks involved.

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

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

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