No, it’s not urgent, and no it’s not a dangerous vaccine. Gardasil is a good vaccine.
I strongly recommend that you look at this article, and the paragraph on Adverse Effects. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/177/5/469 This article from the Canadian Medical Association Journal contains a table showing the numbers of serious events and the numbers of deaths in several studies on the use of the HPV vaccine. There seems to be more leg blood clots than expected, but there’s not proof that the vaccine caused it.
Here’s my summary of information from research on 10 years of experience with the vaccine in trials, and nearly 4 years on the market - and my own watching for news on the vaccine.
Gardasil is made the same way that insulin is made these days: recombinant DNA. In this case, common bakers’ yeast makes the proteins that cause the immune response.
The age was chosen because that’s when kids get other shots and research (on minors) that the younger girls under 15 years old had better immune responses than older women — as well as to vaccinate before exposure.
The first trial involved 1200 girls between the ages of 9 and 15. The younger girls had a stronger immune response. We have almost 10 years of experience, now.
HPV is a virus, not a moral issue. It can be transmitted by other contact - picking up skin cells and fluids that contain the viruses - one of the reasons you should wash your hands in the bathroom.
15% of girls begin sex before age 15. Half of girls who have sex before 20 say their first time was forced on them. I’ve diagnosed cancer in situ in girls less than 20 years old — they’ve been infected 3 to 10 years before we can find CIN. At least 2 of these girls had been raped before 15.
The Federal government doesn’t have authority to mandate vaccines in the States. Not yet, not exactly.
However, thirty days after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended the vaccine, State was required by Federal law to buy and distribute the vaccine in the “Vaccines for Children” program. Those who are eligible to choose to receive the HPV vaccine under the “Vaccines for Children” program without cost to them include uninsured girls and young women up to age 21, those who are insured by Medicaid, and those whose private insurance does not pay for vaccines at all.
One problem is that the girls are at an age that they get multiple vaccines, when they are starting their periods and when hormone aggravated conditions begin or flare up, and some have even come to the doctor because they’ve started having sex and so they start on birth control pills or depoprovera at the same time they get the vaccine. There are too many variables and too few reactions for reliable numbers to tie down a definite cause.)
Association does not equal causation and the VAER reports hardly equal even association. They’re really bad examples of “reports.” The reports of deaths and injuries from Gardasil are poorly documented. The VAERS reports of deaths are especially poor evidence. One “death report” actually says the patient “may or may not have expired.”
The reports on the possible vaccine-related deaths are available for viewing at <a href=”http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/index.html"; the VAERS site,(drop down to the table at the middle of the Page, option #3)using “HPV4” (This is the Merck vaccine), at Option#4, check “YES” at “life threatening” (or you could check “death”) and (top of page)”Sort by submission date.”
The great majority of the adverse effects in the reports include pain, redness, and tingling at the injection site and fainting and headaches. People often faint and complain of headaches after seeing a needle, even without being stuck. It looks awful sometimes, like a seizure. Here’s a few samples:
Report:
Administered by: Unknown Purchased by: Unknown Symptoms: Adverse reaction Write-up: It was reported from an article, published on 29-JUN-2009 that there were “hundreds” of life-threatening reactions said to be associated with GARDASIL. This is one of several reports received from the same source. Attempts are being made to obtain additional identifying information to distinguish the individual patients mentioned in this report. Additional information will be provided if available.
Another Report:
FINAL DX: Hodgkins lymphoma, nodular sclerosing, stage IIA. Records reveal patient was pale & had firm left clavicular lymph node. Excisional biopsy done 7/23/09 revealed diagnosis. Tx w/chemotherapy & possibly radiation tx when chemo completed.
Another report:
Write-up: Vaccine was administered, patient became dizzy 30 seconds after shot. Patient was pale, diaphoretic & nauseous. Symptoms lasted about 45 minutes. BP dropped to 90/50 & pulse to 50/min. 8/20/09 PCP note received DOS 8/4/09. After shots pt became naseated, pale, diaphoretic, dizzy and had difficulty breathing. BP dropped to 90/50 and pulse into the 50’s. Sx lasted ~45 minutes with return to baseline. Vax record states pt “passed out”.
“There seems to be more leg blood clots than expected” The clotting is caused by the body devoloping antibodies to the virus already nascent in the body(hence the warning about giving the drug with HPV already present) The antibobodies clump and stick onto the millions of virus in the body causing danger of clotting, especially when the vaccine is given...the body attacks the vaccine !
Thank you for that article! My mother died from cervical cancer, she also had HPV. She wasn’t a floozy, but my dad wasn’t always faithful...
Anyway, my girls got it (the vaccine) and I think it’s remarkable that they are discovering a link between a VIRUS and CANCER! If they can continue this path, it may help with the development of cancer! I don’t understand why people aren’t excited about that.
Very interesting posts.
People today weren’t around before vaccines, nor have they been to parts of the world where the populations are not vaccinated. Without seeing the horrible consequences of diseases, it’s far too easy for them to get hysterical about the one in a million life-threatening adverse event following any vaccination.
I had a 17 year old intern who came to work one day with her arm tender and swollen from a Gardasil shot. It was her second; the first had not caused a reaction. Transient discomfort is a great trade-off considering the pain of CIN or cancer treatment.
my daughter had an adverse reaction today after her 2nd shot, so I came right to FReerepublic because I knew I’d find good info here.
I was relieved to see you participated in this thread as I’ve seen you contribute well to other threads.
My daughter had the 1st. shot 2 years ago. She had gone back and forth in her mind as to whether or not to continue.
She observed her friends of course - a surprising number of whom contracted hpv despite being previously vaccinated.
She also didn’t like what she had learned about adverse reactions.
A few weeks ago she brought up her concerns during a visit and the doctor talked her into the vaccine claiming she had not heard anything bad about it.
She also told my daughter she could either be afraid of the cancer - or of the adverse side affects.
So - she schedules another appt. for today. She goes in and receives the 2nd shot. Within minutes she feels queasy (she DOES faint easily - like her mother)
She lets staff know she doesn’t feel well. A nurse tells her she’ll get her juice and doesn’t return for 5 minutes.
They found my daughter passed out and seizing with her lips blue.
They roused her - kept track of her vitals - and had her call my husband to come pick her up.
She has NEVER had a seizure.
Not once. Until now - just minutes after receiving this shot.
So now she’s mad at herself for being talked into this thing and I’m doing my best not to have a raging hissy fit and calling up the doc who claimed she hadn’t heard anything bad about this stuff.