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The Perils of Gardasil
Exactly who is protecting our young women?
Instead of being the victim of a terrible disease, many are the victim of a
horrible marketing campaign
School is back in session and parents are being persuaded to vaccinate their young daughters against cervical cancer with a vaccine called Gardasil. There is even legislation trying to make this a mandatory vaccine.
What is Gardasil? It is a cervical cancer vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company, Merck, that targets 4 types of HPV (Human Pampillomavirus); two of these 4 cause 70% of the cases of cervical cancer. But, before you get too excited about this seemingly “wonder drug”, please read further.
To date, over 9,700 adverse reactions have been reported, including more than 580 reports of paralysis, convulsion and seizures, and 18 girls/women have died. You can view these events on the National Vaccine Information Center Web page.
Most recently, the Gardasil vaccine is now linked to over 78 cases of genital warts. Since the vaccine is being recommended for girls starting at age 9, this means grade schoolers are potentially being given genital warts! Also, if a pregnant woman has an outbreak of genital warts they can be passed on to the infant during birth, possibly giving the baby life threatening throat warts.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine the true impact of Gardasil on cervical cancer “will not be observable for decades”. Hardly the glowing endorsement currently being touted by Merck.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cervical cancer has been on the decline. But the decline is accredited not to Gardasil, but to more women having PAP smears. Almost 6 million women contract an HPV infection each year, yet only a very small percentage of these cases turn into cervical cancer. In fact, the immune system simply clears up the infection on its own in about 90% of the cases.
It can literally take years for an ongoing, untreated HPV infection to turn malignant, giving plenty of time for a PAP smear to detect and prevent the cancer.
The rates of cervical cancer have actually decreased 3.7% per year from 1996 to 2004 among all women. In 2004, 11,892 women in the U.S. were reported to have cervical cancer. Of those, 3,850 women died from the disease. More than half of the deaths occurred in women who had never or rarely had a PAP smear. Data suggests that regular PAP smears and a strong immune system are the true keys to avoiding cervical cancer. Cervical cancer statistics can be reviewed at http://www.cdc.gov/CANCER/cervical/statistics/.
Other important considerations for parents of young girls are that no one knows how long the vaccine remains effective in the body, plus the vaccine only works on four forms of the over 100 strains of sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).
In 2006 the FDA gave approval to use the vaccine on females aged 9 to 26. So if you don’t think your 9 year old is sexually active, then why would you ever give her something so potentially dangerous, for a virus she can only get if she's having sex?
Gardasil has been linked to pancreatitis – a painful disease that can be fatal. Three women in Australia contracted pancreatitis shortly after receiving the Gardasil vaccination. Acute pancreatitis causes severe abdominal pain as pancreatic enzymes burn and irritate the pancreas and leak into the abdominal cavity. Complications such as heart, respiratory or kidney failure, all of which can be fatal, can be associated with pancreatitis.
Acute Demyelinating Encephanomyelitis (ADEM) is a condition characterized by inflammation of the brain is associated with the vaccination. After receiving the Gardasil vaccination, a 12 year girl lost all feeling in her leg and collapsed. She now struggles to get around each day with the use of braces and a walker. She once had hopes of an athletic scholarship. Her mother said if she knew ADEM was associated with the vaccine, she would not have allowed her daughter to be vaccinated. You can read Brittany’s story at http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=95517 .
The Gardasil vaccine has many unknowns, such as how long will it actually protect against the HPV virus? Are there any long term side effects? Right now there are no answers. Long term studies were not done.
The Wall Street Journal’s take on Gardasil is, “Mandatory vaccination across the U.S. would make an automatic blockbuster for Merck at a time when the patents on some of its bestselling drugs are expiring and it’s desperate to replace their revenues streams”. Remember that Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil, is the same company that killed over 60,000 people with their painkiller, Vioxx, and is still facing almost 12,000 lawsuits.
To tug on people's heartstrings, Merck launched an elaborate “public service announcement” promotional campaign for Gardasil before it was even approved.
Speaking of approval...Gardasil took only six months from application to approval. Most vaccines take three years to get approval, and then spend another 5-10 years before they are universally accepted. This longer time frame allows time to learn about the safety, side effects, and use of new drugs. No one is saying exactly why this particular vaccine was able to shortcut the approval process. Once again, it looks like the FDA is the pocket of a pharmaceutical company.
Anyone suffering from side effects after receiving the Gardasil vaccination can forget about suing Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil. The vaccine is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund. Your only recourse is to file a claim with the government. As a taxpayer, you then get to pay your own claim.
Regular PAP smears along with consciously building a healthy immune system that will automatically fight off infections, makes much more sense than subjecting a healthy body to a possibly debilitating vaccine.
If you really want to protect yourself or your daughter, early detection of an infection, and boosting the immune system are much better solutions.
A strong immune system goes to battle every day fighting bacteria and viruses. Eating a healthy, whole foods based diet and taking high quality supplements, like Vital Earth’s Fulvic Mineral Complex and Super-Multi are a good way to build a healthy immune system. A strong immune system can help prevent all types of diseases and give you natural sustainable energy to enjoy your life.
Before you are swayed by aggressive marketing, and subject yourself or a loved one to any type of vaccine, research the vaccine yourself. If your doctor recommends the Gardasil vaccine, go to the internet and look up actual statistics on the side effects. Most doctors only have the information that is provided by the manufacturer. There is a big difference between seeing a list of possible side effects… and seeing the actual numbers of women and young girls who’s lives have been ruined or cut short from this vaccine.
There is plenty of information regarding the damaging effects of Gardasil is available online. Just perfom a search for the term: Dangers of Gardasil. You will see many published artilcles from a variety of sources. |
