The public forum was held in an Indianapolis community, sponsored by the Indiana Immunization Coalition. It featured among its panelists scientist Darron Brown, who is one of the creators of the HPV vaccine. He is a researcher at UI Health. He and other panelists were put on the spot when parents began peppering them with questions about the vaccine’s safety.

WISH TV8 reporter Deanna Dewberry, who attended the forum as part of her ongoing investigation about the HPV vaccine, said  the scene became more emotionally charged as some parents in the audience began to share stories about serious side effects suffered by their children, which they believed were directly related the Gardasil shots. Teenage girls cried as their parents shared information about the symptoms they reportedly suffer after receiving the vaccine.

Brown and other panelists, which included physicians and public health department representatives, argued such side effects have not been conclusively proven as resulting from the vaccine.

Since its approval by the FDA and introduction to the market in 2006, Gardasil has been linked to more than 20,000 reports of adverse side effects, including serious problems such as seizures, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Guilliane Barre syndrome. There have been nearly 100 deaths reported among girls who received the Gardsail vaccine. At the end of 2011, the vaccine’s reach was expanded when it was approved for use in boys and young men.

Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Public Health Department, assured parents that her office would follow up on reports of side effects linked to Gardasil.

Watch the News Report:

HPV vaccine forum turns emotional: wishtv.com

Source: WISH TV8

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

As head of Merck’s $5 billion global vaccine arm, Dr. Gerberding will likely be responsible for revitalizing Gardasil’s waning sales. Merck won FDA approval for the vaccine in 2007 and immediately launched an aggressive campaign to make Gardasil shots mandatory for school girls as young as 11. However, the ambitious plan ultimately failed, thanks to the outcry of consumer and health advocates who challenged the vaccine’s safety profile.

Other critics say that the Gardasil vaccine is useless and that its risks exceed its benefits.

Dr. Charlotte Haug, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association criticized Gardasil in an editorial published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

“Whether a risk is worth taking depends not only on the absolute risk, but on the relationship between the potential risk and the potential benefit. If the potential benefits are substantial, most individuals would be willing to accept the risks. But the net benefit of the HPV vaccine to a woman is uncertain. Even if persistently infected with HPV, a woman most likely will not develop cancer if she is regularly screened…”

Dr. Diane Harper, the lead researcher in HPV vaccine development, announced at a conference in October that she considered Gardasil a useless vaccine, and that Merck’s efforts in pushing the Gardasil vaccine amount to what she called “a great big public health experiment.”

Gardasil’s side effects include fainting, redness and inflammation at the vaccination site, dizziness, and fever. However, the most dangerous side effect reported so far has been an increase in the risk and rate of blood clots. According to JAMA, blood clots resulting from Gardasil may have caused 32 unconfirmed deaths so far.

Gardasil sales have been floundering recently, down 22 percent in the third quarter at $311 million.

Dr. Gerberding’s controversial tenure at the CDC was rife with allegations that she put party politics before science and public health, and that her strategic decisions crippled the agency’s ability to respond effectively to public health crises. In December 2005, five former CDC directors jointly wrote a letter to Dr. Gerberding, expressing alarm over the departure of key staff members and warning that her leadership jeopardized the agency’s ability to perform effectively.

If the concerns of the CDC’s former directors and leading scientists are valid, then Dr. Gerberding may be the right person to shore up Gardasil’s place in the drug market.

“As a preeminent authority in public health, infectious diseases and vaccines, Dr. Gerberding is the ideal choice to lead Merck’s engagement with organizations around the world that share our commitment to the use of vaccines to prevent disease and save lives,” Merck Chief Executive Officer Richard Clark said in a statement.

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