Posted on 03/15/2007 5:24:51 AM PDT by A. Pole
A researcher who worked on a vaccine for the human papillomavirus is warning that it hasn't been tested on young girls, is "silly" for states to mandate the vaccination, and in a worst-case scenario could even increase cervical cancer rates.
In a report published by the Indiana-based Daily News, researcher Diane M. Harper said giving such a vaccine to 11-year-olds "is a great big public health experiment."
Further, she said, requiring vaccinations now "is simply to Merck's benefit."
[...]
The new vaccine, Gardasil, made by Merck and Co., has been an issue recently because of Merck's aggressive lobbying at the state level to have lawmakers require that all schoolgirls at about age 11 or 12 be vaccinated with its product – at a cost estimated at about $360-$400 per child.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry in February issued an executive order requiring those vaccinations, but the state House of Representatives in Texas has approved by a 6-1 margin a plan to rescind that.
[...]
Merck has lobbied for its product by contributing financially to Women in Government, an organization for women state lawmakers, and at least partly because of that effort, almost three dozen state legislatures have been given proposals regarding Gardasil.
[...]
Harper also reported that the drug company "bridged" the studies to apply to young girls. That means that Merck assumed that because it proved effective in the older girls, it also would be effective in the younger girls.
And she warned more than 40 cases of Guillian-Barre syndrome – an immune disorder that results in tingling, numbness and even paralysis of the muscles – have been reported in girls who got the HPV vaccine in combination with a meningitis vaccine.
She said the vaccine's purpose has been misinterpreted and mis-marketed so that too many may believe if they've had the vaccine they are immune to cancer – when they are not.
While calling the vaccine "good" Harper said it is important to realize that if women get the vaccine, but not an routine Pap smear, "what will happen in the U.S. is that we will have an increase in cervical cancer, because the Pap screening does a very good job."
Harper told the publication she's attempted to publicize her opinion for months, "but no one will print it."
[...]
Profit based medicine/science at work!
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A researcher who worked on a vaccine for the human papillomavirus is warning that it hasn't been tested on young girls, is "silly" for states to mandate the vaccination, and in a worst-case scenario could even increase cervical cancer rates.
I knew it was only a matter of time before the TRUTH emerged!
Thank God the Texas legislature over-rode Gov. Perry's dangerous edict yesterday. It would have endangered many lives and cost Texas BILLIONS in a class action lawsuit brought by parents of girls who had been used as guinea pigs in this outrageous experiment. Obviously, our pathetic excuse for a governor just listened to the lobbyists for Merck and didn't bother to read the research stating that this vaccine had never been tested on children and might GIVE THEM CANCER!
I'd hate to have Perry's press secretary's job today, trying to spin this mess.
Nuff said.
ping
WND.
There is a link on the WND site to the Indiana Daily News story, but it's a pay site.
There is nothing wrong with the profit-based side of the equation in this case. It's the nanny-state government mandates that are the problem.
http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=+Diane+M.+Harper&btnG=Google+Search
Diane Harper certainly has the credentials; however I would like to see the story somewhere else if it's available.
Funny, I said the same thing a month or so ago, and was called an anti science religious bigot.
You're right. However, it seems that any time a new "wonder drug" is rushed through FDA testing and approval, there are serious problems. It wasn't that long ago that drugs like Vioxx and Fen-phen were just "perfect."
That appears to be what's driving the whole thing.
If I make a product that benefits a few people, can I have the government mandate for everyone (just in case they need it, all for their own good, of course) so I can make lots of money, too? What a racket!
You weren't alone. Anyone who is anti-mandate is immediately accused of being anti-vaccine (of any kind). I never cease to be amazed at the number of freepers on this site who promote themselves as conservatives all the while pushing the liberal big government agenda. They think it's OK for the government to mandate something THEY think is a good idea whether others like it or not. Giving the government more control of a person's life is not conservative.
If the way the government runs the DMV is any example of what'll happen if they get control of health care.....
Makes me sick to think he's an Aggie... talk about an Aggie joke.
Kinky Friedman was the best choice after all. He wouldn't have "done" anything, which in government usually allows us to keep more of our money.
Any republican worth anything should be able to spin this against democrat idiocy.
Trouble is a lot of GOP people have been pushing this also.
I seem to recall having this discussion before. LOL!
Needs repeating. Judging by recent posts, some people STILL don't get it.
And from what I've seen around here, they tend to be the same ones who support embryonic stem cell research, abortion, and killing Terri Schiavo.
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