Gardasil- Worth the risk?

So about a month and a half ago, I got the first of the HPV vaccine shots called Gardasil. There are three shots all together. In two weeks, I’m schedule to get the next one and I must say, I’m rather conflicted. I also wish I hadn’t been so hasty to get the first one so that I could think about this longer than the next two weeks.

Ok, a little background. Gardasil is the first ever vaccine against 2 types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). You’ve seen the commercials:



The messed up bit about this is that men are the carriers of it. They may have it and pass it without ever having any knowledge of it, although they can sometimes be affected by it as well. It’s transmitted through sex and in most cases clears up on its own. However, it can also lead to cervical cancer. So, in theory, something that helps prevent this is a god send right? That’s what I thought. Not to mention, the commercials are pretty effective in convincing me that this was absolutely necessary. The commercials do point out that some of the side effects include pain, swelling, itching, and redness at injection site, fever, nausea or dizziness. Not too bad in exchange for a better shot at not having cancer, right?

They forget to mention Guillain-Barre syndrome, thrombembolism, gastrointestinal complaints, disorders of the lymphatic system, hypersensitivity, bronchospasm, musculoskeletal disorders, and connective tissue abnormalities.

Since June 30, 2008, 9,700 adverse “events” have been reported. The scary thing? No one really knows why these side effects occur. At first it was thought that the aluminum salts in the vaccine were the culprits but Dr. Diane Harper (MD from Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire), who was the principal investigator during the clinical vaccine trials says that this proved to be untrue.

So if they don’t know what exactly causes all those horrible things to happen, why push the drug so fiercely? Merck does have a monopoly on the market and they’ve already supplied 6 million doses of the vaccine in the US alone. With each individual shot costing over 100$, that’s quite a chunk of change in the bank, especially during a recession.

Having read the Merck Clinical Studies, I’ve summed up a few interesting things:

• The vaccine is 0% effective for girls already exposed to HPV (now remember, often times people get HPV without knowing about it so if you’ve had sex, you technically could’ve already gotten it, in which case, this vaccine is null and void to you. 90% of the time, HV clears up on it’s own in 1-2 years in healthy women). In fact, the vaccine has only been tested on people who have never been exposed to HPV.
  

• There is no data of how effective it is beyond 36 months post injection. They are now conducting research to see if and when a “booster” shot needs to be administered. Not to mention, regular PAP screenings are still 100% necessary to ensure prevention of cancer.

• The side effects that are a result of the vaccine beyond 36 months have also been undocumented. With what I have listed being side effects that happen within a 36-month period, it’s hard to move past that in confidence that everything will be ok.

p.s. Remember Vioxx? Merck was responsible for that one, too.

It’s a strange time we live in. Medicine has really become a double-edged sword where you’re screwed if you do and you’re screwed if you don’t. I’m usually a proponent of holistic cures due to the fact that it’s making less and less sense to me that everything doctors prescribe has negative side effects, for which they often prescribe more miracle quick fixes. As a culture, this has become completely acceptable; diseases and allergies that didn’t exist 20 years ago are a part of life today and we’re just taking it. And I’m really disappointed with myself for slipping into it and believing a COMMERCIAL BY THE SUPPLIER who happens to have a monopoly on the situation.

I’ll keep doing research but just from today I think I may have made up my mind. Cheers to vitamins being the only pills I’ll be popping daily for as long as humanly possible.

Thank you minio for waking me up.
Thank you marissa for fiercely agreeing.