The Gardasil Controversy
Many major media outlets including NBC News, Time Magazine and The Washington Post have recently run stories about several states attempts to make the HPV vaccine Gardasil mandatory. So far, only Texas has enacted mandatory vaccinations, done by the stroke of the pen and an executive order by Republican Governor Rick Perry, who incidentally has ties to lobbyists for pharmaceutical giant Merck, the manufacturer of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, but many other states are considering similar action.
Let’s talk fact first before we deal with the hype.
About ten thousand cases of cervical cancer are reported each year, and many of these cases are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This is how the numbers break down according to this article in Time Magazine:
HPV is an increasingly common sexually transmitted disease and one that scientists say is linked to 70% of all cases of cervical cancer. Gardasil, the first vaccine to fight cancer, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last June. The CDC says the vaccine has been tested, is safe and goes a long way toward preventing the deadly cancer which is estimated to have affected 9,710 women in 2006, killing 3,700.
What puzzles me is the type of controversy over such mandatory vaccinations. My initial reaction to hearing the news that some states were moving to make vaccination mandatory for all girls entering middle school was that we needed to examine the facts about Gardasil with a bit more scrutiny. I questioned the FDA approval process, which seemed to me to have been pushed thru by government regulators, many of which have ties to lobbyists doing Merck’s business, and after all the trouble Merck had with Vioxx, it seemed like they were looking for a slam dunk. States enacting laws to make Gardasil vaccinations mandatory certainly would make Merck’s stockholders happy now wouldn’t they?
But that isn’t what’s going on out there! Opposition to mandatory vaccinations is coming from certain fringe elements, many of them religious right wingers, who seem to think that mandatory vaccinations for a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer will encourage increased sexual behavior in teenage girls. I know. Please, my head has been spinning ever since I heard that one too.
How anyone connected those sets of dots is beyond me, but these same people who think girls who receive the Gardasil vaccine will all of a sudden become a bunch of promiscuous trollops, are really missing the big picture.
This is about public health and prevention. I agree that we need to examine Gardasil more closely, and I’m deeply concerned about states enacting laws which will fatten the largess of big-pharma, but let’s keep this conversation reasonable. In many states considering mandatory vaccinations, including Texas, parents have the right to opt-out of the program, but should they? What kind of message are they sending to their daughters by denying them a potentially life saving vaccine?
I’ve always been opposed to those who push abstinence only sex education because quite frankly, it’s unrealistic. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that human sexuality will not be restrained. Aren’t we better off putting our efforts into real education and public health awareness about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, how to get and use condoms and why you should always use them, and if in fact Gardasil can do all it promises, shouldn’t we take our daughters to an OB/GYN of our own choosing and have the conversation with a medical professional? We’re basing decisions on the word of lobbyists, politicians, and drug company executives instead of doctors, and that is a mistake.
If state governments are serious about HPV and the public health of women, then perhaps a voucher system could be put in place to help compensate doctors for giving the vaccine to their patients. The way the construct is being set up now, this is going to be an entirely taxpayer funded operation, and as a taxpayer, I’m concerned about using public dollars to make Merck richer; yet the double edged sword is the women’s health aspect, and if Gardasil can stop just one case of cervical cancer, we should absolutely endorse this. How can we as mothers in good conscience not?
All articles pertaining to Gardasil, HPV and Women’s Health are part of the Social Issues section of this site. Check the section library index page for the latest entries.
1pile0nades
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 18:31
I bet if there was a working AIDS vaccine, these fringe groups would be singing a different tune. They wouldn’t want to seem like they don’t want a cure for AIDS now, would they? Though some of them actually think of AIDS as a punishment from God. It’s sick.
Love,
Gary
2JW
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 18:40
Kinda sorta related…
From Truthdig.com
Chris Hedges: The Christian Right’s War on America
http://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20070206_chris_hedges_christian_right_war_on_america/
From DemocracyNow!…
Chris Hedges on “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/19/1545218
3nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 18:43
Gary,
Mmm, I wouldn’t bet on that. These fringe groups are so entrenched in their belief system that anything tied to sexuality is the kind of thing that sends them into orbit. And you’re right, some of them do believe that AIDS is punishment from God, and that is indeed sick.
Here’s the issue with Gardasil tho; according to the FDA and Merck, Gardasil is safe and works, so the logical conclusion is to vaccinate young girls before they become sexually active so that when they do become sexually active they’re protected from HPV. The reasoning makes perfect sense. Those who think that giving the girls the vaccine at say 12 years old will encourage them to be sexually active is simply ridiculous. This is a women’s health issue, and serious one too.
They need to think about this scenario; let’s say a girl saves her virginity until she gets married, then has unprotected sex with her new husband, and then contracts HPV and gets cervical cancer. Whoops! We could have vaccinated her at 12 years old but we had our heads up our asses and didn’t because we were too worried about our abstinence only bullshit.
Grrrr!
My issue however is with how Gardasil was approved by the FDA and about the funding of mandatory vaccines, and the ties of certain politicians to Merck lobbyists. On the health side of the argument, if Gardasil works, then absolutely, vaccinate every girl we can find.
Thanks sweetie,
xoxo,
nina
4nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 18:46
JW,
Thanks for the links sweetie. I’ll check those out and will probably find something in there to put into a new post. I have the feeling that I’m going to be standing on this particular soap box for a while!
:angel:
Thanks!
xoxo,
nina
5StripGoddess
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 2:16
What I like about Texas’ new order is that the parents have to file an affadavit stating that they don’t want their daughter to receive the vaccine. This means that they can’t remain “anonymous” - everyone will know that the parents are intentionally playing Russian Roulette with their daughters’ lives.
I also agree with you, Nina, on your response to Gary. If they came out with a mandatory requirement for HIV vaccinations, the wingers would be all up in arms about that as well because, as far as they’re concerned, it is, as you indicated, a “punishment” for having the audacity to have sex.
And just as an FYI, they have just begun a series of trials on a vaccine that has shown to be effective against two of the strains of HIV in Africa. These have some promise for the future if the tests prove conclusively that they are effective. (They couldn’t get permission to test in the US from what I understand).
6pile0nades
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 7:58
Nina,
You’re right about the fringe groups. I was thinking they’d try to spin/sugarcoat their “criticism” of an AIDS vaccine in the media simply because news of one would be absolutely huge, but thinking about it more, yes they would probably act the same way they are about this vaccine.
Love,
Gary
7nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:01
StripGoddess,
Yes, I had heard that about Texas, that an affidavit would be required to opt out, and you’re exactly right, it is Russian Roulette! I mean, even if these young girls aren’t sexually active right now, they eventually will be, and they need to be protected as soon as possible.
I’m not up to speed on HIV research, but I do know that most of the work is being done in Europe and also with a lot of private sector money. The funny thing is, and perhaps the only thing that I cannot fault the Bush administration for is the money that’s gone to African AIDS relief. It’s not nearly enough, but it’s more than any other president has been willing to do, but none of that money unfortunately goes to prevention and condoms. It’s all about dealing with it after the fact. I’m not surprised that they couldn’t do testing in the US. We can’t even get stem cell research funded, so how are we supposed to even begin to think about addressing AIDS/HIV?
Thanks sweetie,
xoxo,
nina
8nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:07
Gary,
I try and respect other people’s beliefs. I truly do. But I do insist that they at least be rooted in fact to some degree. The religious right actually is a small minority in this country, but they’re a very vocal and loud minority, and they’ve created the perception that they’re a lot more influential than they really are. As a nation we truly need to invest in comprehensive sex education which includes information about how to prevent STDs, condoms, and respect & peer issues. Sex and sexuality are normal things, and to act like they don’t exist with some crazy abstinence only line of thinking is simply silly. What always amazes me is why these same people feel such an overwhelming need to try and exercise control over what everyone else is doing.
Thanks sweetie,
xoxo,
nina
9JW
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 20:43
The Physics of Sex: The HPV Vaccine
10nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 20:56
JW,
That’s a great post! Thanks for the link!
xoxo,
nina
11stickdog
wrote on 21 February 2007 at 19:04
The Facts About GARDASIL
1. GARDASIL is a vaccine for 4 strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), two strains that are strongly associated (and probably cause) genital warts and two strains that are typically associated (and may cause) cervical cancer. About 90% of people with genital warts show exposure to one of the two HPV strains strongly suspected to cause genital warts. About 70% of women with cervical cancer show exposure to one of the other two HPV strains that the vaccine is designed to confer resistance to.
2. HPV is a sexually communicable virus. It is not contagious without prolonged skin to skin contact. When you consider all strains of HPV, over 70% of sexually active males and females have been exposed. A condom helps a lot (70% less likely to get it), but has not been shown to stop transmission in all cases (only one study of 82 college girls who self-reported about condom use has been done). For the vast majority of women, exposure to HPV strains (even the four “bad ones” protected for in GARDASIL) results in no known health complications of any kind.
3. Cervical cancer is not a deadly nor prevalent cancer in the US or any other first world nation. Cervical cancer rates have declined sharply over the last 30 years and are still declining. Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1% of of all female cancer cases and deaths in the US. Cervical cancer is typically very treatable and the prognosis for a healthy outcome is good. The typical exceptions to this case are old women, women who are already unhealthy and women who don’t get pap smears until after the cancer has existed for many years.
4. Merck’s clinical studies for GARDASIL were problematic in several ways. Only 20,541 women were used (half got the “placebo”) and their health was followed up for only four years at maximum and typically 1-3 years only. More critically, only 1,121 of these subjects were less than 16. The younger subjects were only followed up for a maximum of 18 months. Furthermore, less than 10% of these subjects received true placebo injections. The others were given injections containing an aluminum salt adjuvant (vaccine enhancer) that is also a component of GARDASIL. This is scientifically preposterous, especially when you consider that similar alum adjuvants are suspected to be responsible for Gulf War disease and other possible vaccination related complications.
5. Both the “placebo” groups and the vaccination groups reported a myriad of short term and medium term health problems over the course of their evaluations. The majority of both groups reported minor health complications near the injection site or near the time of the injection. Among the vaccination group, reports of such complications were slightly higher. The small sample that was given a real placebo reported far fewer complications — as in less than half. Furthermore, most if not all longer term complications were written off as not being potentially vaccine caused for all subjects.
6. Because the pool of test subjects was so small and the rates of cervical cancer are so low, NOT A SINGLE CONTROL SUBJECT ACTUALLY CONTRACTED CERVICAL CANCER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM — MUCH LESS DIED OF IT. Instead, this vaccine’s supposed efficacy is based on the fact that the vaccinated group ended up with far fewer cases (5 vs. about 200) of genital warts and “precancerous lesions” (dysplasias) than the alum injected “control” subjects.
7. Because the tests included just four years of follow up at most, the long term effects and efficacy of this vaccine are completely unknown for anyone. All but the shortest term effects are completely unknown for little girls. Considering the tiny size of youngster study, the data about the shortest terms side effects for girls are also dubious.
8. GARDASIL is the most expensive vaccine ever marketed. It requires three vaccinations at $120 a pop for a total price tag of $360. It is expected to be Merck’s biggest cash cow of this and the next decade.
These are simply the facts of the situation as presented by Merck and the FDA.
For a more complete discussion on GARDASIL with sources, click on my name.
12nina
wrote on 22 February 2007 at 8:31
stickdog,
Thank you for all of this information.
I would however like to point out that worldwide, there are about 300,000 cases of cervical cancer, 10k of them in the USA, claiming just over 3,000 lives here. While it isn’t lung cancer or breast cancer, it’s still quite serious.
Thanks,
nina
13awylf
wrote on 26 February 2007 at 12:03
Stickdog, It may not seem that serious to you, but you try being diagnosed with cin1 precancerous lesions when you are just 24 yrs old AND haven’t even had any form of sexual activity in 2 yrs solid! The cells were inactive for 3 yrs and then came back with a venegence. In six months time they went from being undetectable to pushing the line of being called cancer. SIX MONTHS! That’s how often I go get checked to see if I have cells that can threaten my life. I’m young, I shouldn’t have to face this. I should be able to get life insurance, but the cost is high when cancer lurks in your shadows. Oh and don’t let me forget the surgery to remove the cells. That was the most medeival thing I’ve ever been put through. Because the cervix has no feeling (yeah right) you are awake for the whole proceedure. First they tie down your arms and your legs, then they give you about 7 shots into your cervix (not sure why, they didn’t help)lastly they take an electrical loop and BURN the cells out. I don’t really care how much Merck makes from this. Other girls and young women won’t have to hear I’m sorry, but you have cells that can turn into cancer. The vast majority of women? So what, I’m not one of them. I get to deal with this the rest of my life. Why take the chance. This doesn’t have to happen anymore. Walk a mile in someone’s shoes. It IS a big deal when it’s your life!! At least this is my life and not my daughter’s! My parents cried when they heard my screams during surgery, they cried when I called them and told them that I can get cancer. I couldn’t imagine their pain if they could have stopped this and chose not to.
14awylf
wrote on 26 February 2007 at 12:04
Nina,
Awesome site :)
15nina
wrote on 26 February 2007 at 15:03
awylf,
Thank you! And thank you for sharing your story. Gardasil is a good first step in erradicating this form of cancer. Even one woman’s life lost is one too many.
xoxo,
nina
16awylf
wrote on 14 March 2007 at 18:14
As far as Merck gettin richer, GlaxoSmithCline should a vaccine approved sometime this year. Also, Im in VA here if you qualify you can get the vaccine at the health dept no charge.
I’ve told my story more than once. There is a shame that goes with having hpv, but it’s very important to me that others don’t go through this too. They really don’t have to anymore. I’ve been dealing with it 6 yrs now. It’s always in the back of my mind that cancer can take me out. I can’t turn my back on it for a minute. I just turned 30 this week. I have a young son. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, but life isn’t supposed to go this way. I wish I could get ahold of the parents that think they shouldn’t vaccinate their kids and grab them by the shoulders and say WAKE UP!!! Even if you think your kid is perfect, like every parent should, you shouldn’t take the chance.
17nina
wrote on 15 March 2007 at 8:35
awylf,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. There shouldn’t be any stigma associated with HPV. How were we supposed to know? Now, with Texas acting like idiots in dealing with this, I fear more women are going to be put at risk.
Thanks again,
xoxo,
nina
18levii
wrote on 25 September 2007 at 20:08
guys, this desease can be treated and may i remind you that people have died because of gardasil. if it can be treated and there is too much of a risk,why do it? im not getting gardasil (but i do agree with the christian group thing. why do they try and stop people from having sex? no sex=no more babies=no more people. and why do they try and force their ideas on everyone?) still, good job stickdog.