Gardasil: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Now Offered With ‘Extra Perks’

Date: 05/03/10

Keywords: Gardasil vaccine, Cervical Cancer, Vaccination

If it’s not the UK government ordering too much of the H1N1 vaccine (and the retrospective fact that the Swine Flu pandemic was blown out of proportion), then it is the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, like this one, that’s being questioned. Now the furore surrounding the H1N1 vaccine has died, yet another vaccine laden with controversy has reared its ugly head.

This time (and no surprise here) it’s the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.

Just the mere mention of the word ‘vaccines’ is enough to send alarm bells ringing for most of us these days.

If it’s not the UK government ordering too much of the H1N1 vaccine (and the retrospective fact that the Swine Flu pandemic was blown out of proportion), then it is the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, like this one, that’s being questioned. Now the furore surrounding the H1N1 vaccine has died, yet another vaccine laden with controversy has reared its ugly head.

This time (and no surprise here) it’s the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Regular readers of the Daily Health alert will know that we’ve written about Gardasil a number of times. Here’s a few fact’s to bring you up to date:

In September 2008 the Department of Health (DOH) introduced a HPV immunisation programme to routinely vaccinate girls aged 12 - 13 against cervical cancer. A catch-up programme started in Autumn 2009 when girls aged 16 - 18 were offered the vaccine.

There are more than 100 subtypes of the human papilloma virus (HPV) and most women who are sexually active will have had the virus at some stage in their life. Usually, the body’s natural defences defeat the virus, and most women never even know they had it in the first place.

Gardasil, is effective against only four major HPV strains or subtypes. Gardasil has been granted a licence by the EU for use in children and adolescents aged 9 to 15 years and in adult females aged 16 to 26 years for the prevention of cervical cancer caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18.

Almost 11,900 girls and young women have reported adverse events associated with Gardasil - including paralysis, coma, seizures and more.

A number of deaths associated with Gardasil have also been reported – varying between 32 and 45 depending on the source. Even though these numbers could be seen as statistically low compared to the number of girls that have received it, one should still ask: ‘If it was your daughter, would the statistics matter?’

In the US, The National Vaccine Information Centre, a private vaccine-safety group, compared Gardasil adverse events to another vaccine, one also given to young people, but for meningitis. Gardasil had three times the number of Emergency Room visits - more than 5,000 and reports of side effects were up to 30 times higher with Gardasil.

Snow White and the poison apple

Clearly Gardasil is wrapped in controversy. And it’s because of this controversy and especially questions about its effectiveness that the number of young women getting the vaccine, in the age group 16 – 18, has been declining. As if Merck’s (the manufacturers) intensified marketing campaign for Gardasil has not been enough, now, young women aged 16 to 18 will be given £45 worth of shopping vouchers if they complete an inoculation course against the HPV virus.

Bosses at NHS Birmingham East and North, which is carrying out the £22,500 incentive pilot scheme, said it has ‘real benefits for health’ and there are plans to role out the pilot scheme to the rest of the UK.

Luckily there’s a few campaigners that think this whole ‘Snow White and the poison apple’ scheme amounts to nothing less than bribery and they also have fears that it may encourage promiscuity and raise pregnancy rates – since many girls believe Gardasil is a ‘safe sex’ vaccine.

Then there is also the fact that these girls (16 – 18) no longer require parental consent to get the vaccine. Suddenly it has become morally right to treat an under aged child with any sort of medical treatment without the consent of, and in the presence of, their parent.

Doctors have a moral and legal obligation to provide all patients with information regarding the risks and benefits of any medical treatment. With this information, the patient can then give informed consent.

The question is: Can we expect under aged girls to make this decision when perhaps they are not yet mature enough to do so? Dangling a carrot in front of their noses with £45 shopping vouchers surely can only influence their decision with bias and in favour of the vaccine punters... with little thought to the possible damaging side effects they may get in their shopping basket.

Related Reading:

Gardasil Is Not The ‘Fairytale Cancer Vaccine’ It Is Dressed Up To Be

Sources:

‘Vaccination against cervical cancer’ published online, oxfordradcliffe.nhs.uk

‘Cervical Cancer – Gardasil’, published online, fleetstreetclinic.com

‘Gardasil…KILLS!’ by irdial, published online 09.02.09, irdial.com/blogdial

‘Merck’s Profit Beats Analysts’ Estimates, Shares Gain’ by Shannon Pettypiece, published online 03.02.09, bloomberg.com

‘£45 shops ‘bribe’ for cervical cancer jab for teenage girls’ published online 14.02.10, dailymail.co.uk

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Gardasil: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Now Offered With ‘Extra Perks’

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