Gardasil Vaccine Comes Under New Fire from Revealing Reports

Gardasil, the vaccine which is claimed by its manufacturer Merck & Company to protect against cervical cancer from the sexually transmitted disease HPV (Human Papillomavirus), has come under fire once again.

According to CNN News and other media sources, reports surfaced yesterday proving that since the drug was fully approved only two years ago by the Food and Drug Administration, there have been over 7,800 complaints of reactions and ailments linked to inoculation with Gardasil.

In these complaints, Gardasil is suspected as the culprit in symptoms ranging from nausea and paralysis to even 15 reports of death, which are being studied by the CDC in their VAERS reports. The CNN report cites two families claiming possible injury court cases.

Most studies, like this very thorough one from Johns Hopkins University, have found that HPV is responsible for 90-99% of most cervical cancer cases. Cervical cancer is the second most deadly women's cancer next to heart disease. HPV is not protected against by condoms, as it can also be transmitted through the sweat glands around the areas of the sexual organs, and also the anal area (sorry to get so graphic, but this is reality, folks).

HPV is very widespread. The Hopkins study cites that it is the most prevalent STD, and may be encountered at some point by 75% of sexually active girls and women. It can also be present in homosexual men. Both heterosexual and homosexual boys and men can be carriers of the disease, transmitting it to every one of their partners, but never knowing.

Some HPV infections clear up on their own and cause no problems. For those infections that prevail, the only pronounced symptom of HPV, which can't be seen in females except upon gynecological examination, is genital warts. Symptoms of HPV may not show up at all, or can show up only too late - when the cervical cancer is diagnosed. Sadly, women can also transfer HPV to their newborns.

The Gardasil vaccine is touted to prevent the spread of HPV - however, it was only studied for approximately 4 years, and is very controversial because many believe it was pushed out early by the FDA under pressure from anti-abstinence lobbying groups looking for more ways to encourage early sexual activity. Getting the Gardasil vaccine can send the wrong message to girls and women - "if I have it, I'm safe". Gardasil does not protect against HIV and AIDS or many other STD's. And statistics prove that girls aren't as worried about getting STD's as they should be. Or, they don't know they already have one.

At least 1 in Every 4 Teen Girls has a Sexual Disease

In March 2008, Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer, reported for Newsday.com that at least one in four teenage girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted disease. This adds up to more than 3 million teens, according to the study cited by the CDC. HPV is the most prevalent in the 14 to 19 age group.

Let's look at California for an example. A study published in September of 2007 in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion reports that in 2005 there were 1.1 million new cases of sexually-transmitted infections among young people in California. Is this because of a lack of public school sex education, as some are attacking abstinence education as the villain in kids being curious to try sex? No, at least not in California. California's Department of Education requires a full range of sexual health ed, except that it actually prohibits "abstinence-only" education, and doesn't accept any federal dollars for such.

Gardasil is the only vaccine for a cancer of any type. In 2007, the threat of making it mandatory arose for girls as young as 9 years old. Several states complied and tried to comply, but there has been great outcry from parents' and values organizations for these reasons and more:

- The dangers of vaccinations ranging from allergies to very serious, as is now being blamed on other vaccines.

- In very young girls, there is not enough evidence that the vaccine's validity will last last even until the girls enter their teens, and the risks of a new, hardly tested vaccination outweigh the advantages.

- Gardasil does not protect against all strains of HPV, nor against all types of cervical cancer.

- A mandatory vaccine would take the decision power away from girls' parents and even girls themselves to teach, learn and maintain high moral standards.

- The vaccine undermines school abstinence education, in that it is assumed girls will have sex. It seems to be the government's green light toward casual sex (be that "sex" as kids think is only intercourse today, or any form of sex. Many STD's can come from saliva, although this has not been proven yet with HPV).

A related article released yesterday through CBS News tells the story of a healthy 13-year-old, Jenny, in Northern California. Over a year ago, soon after receiving her third and final shot of the Gardasil vaccine, Jenny's muscles began deteriorating. She's now almost completely paralyzed.

Her family told CBS News they believe there's a link. Reports of injury links from the vaccine have also reached the U.S. News and World Report, which stated on July 2 that the "watchdog group Judicial Watch has been periodically obtaining adverse event reports on Gardasil" from the FDA, including "serious effects such as miscarriage and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nervous system disease causing weak and tingling arms and legs."

Merck & Company questions the links, stating it has distributed more than 26 million Gardasil vaccines worldwide, including nearly 16 million in the United States. The Gardasil vaccine makes Merck & Company $360 for every series of 3 shots.

See these other excellent articles on Gardasil and HPV here at AC: "HPV and the new Gardasil Vaccine: Why it Should Not Be Mandatory", by Molls092, or

"Gardasil Vaccine Injuries", by Daniel Dunkin , the latter at which you will see a passionate testimony (see "Rebecca", comment 5/5/08) from the mother of a girl who had the vaccine.