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On first glance, a study published by drug manufacturer Merck & Co., in the New England Journal of Medicine appears to declare the Gardasil vaccine a resounding success. The pharmaceutical giant points to numbers that show its cervical cancer vaccine has an unbelievable 98 percent efficacy rate. On closer examination, however, perhaps unbelievable is the right word.
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?
Women considering receiving the Gardasil vaccine for themselves or their daughters may encounter a lot of confusing, sometimes contradictory information and sweeping generalizations. Because January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, more women and girls may be seeking information about human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil, and the more recently approved vaccine Cervarix, which makes it even more important that truth about the vaccine be known.
When asked if she believed the Gardasil vaccine presented more risks to girls and women than the possibility of cervical cancer, Dr. Diane Harper, the lead researcher in human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine development told journalist Marcia Yerman that Gardasil has little to no benefit for women who receive Pap screening.
