Concerns over safety of cervical cancer vaccine after 1,300 girls experience adverse side-effects

Daily Mail ^ | 09 Mar 2009 | Daily Mail

[BGHater]

More than 1,300 schoolgirls have experienced adverse reactions to the controversial cervical cancer jab.

Doctors have reported that girls aged just 12 and 13 have suffered paralysis,convulsions and sight problems after being given the vaccine.

Dozens were described as having pain 'in extremity' while others suffered from nausea, muscle weakness, fever, dizziness and numbness.

The vaccine is being given to girls under a Government programme to prevent women from developing cervical cancer.Ministers say it will ultimately save 700 lives a year.

Some have dubbed it the 'promiscuity jab' because it is given to girls to protect against the sexually-transmitted HPV virus which causes 70 per cent of cervical tumours.

Last night campaigners called for the vaccination campaign to be suspended in the light of the published side-effects.

But Government health experts insisted the Cervarix vaccine was safe and that the total of 1,340 reports was to be expected,given that more than 700,000 girls were vaccinated last year.

They also said many of the reactions resulted from the act of injection rather than the vaccine, and said there was no evidence that the jab caused any of the serious conditions such as paralysis.

Cancer charities urged parents to continue allowing their daughters to have the jabs, saying any risks were so minor and unproven that they could not outweigh the benefit of possibly saving lives.

The vaccination programme of young secondary school girls began in September last year following clinical trials on more than 18,000 women under the age of 26. Critics have claimed that not enough pre-pubescent girls were involved.

The vaccine, which is administered in three doses, is also being given to girls aged 17 and 18. This will ensure that by 2011, all those under the age of 18 will have been vaccinated.

[metmom]

Cervical cancer kills 290,000 each year.

Where the heck do you get those stats from?

Can you try to be a little honest here and at least state that that is probably worldwide out of over 3 billion women? In the US it's about 4,000 women each year and that's the population size that we are looking at for the side effects from the vaccine.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cervical-cancer/DS00167

Thanks largely to Pap test screening, the death rate from cervical cancer has decreased greatly over the last 50 years. Still, every year more than 11,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer, and nearly 4,000 die of cervical cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

[luckystarmom]

Why would you get it if you are not sexually active?

Some girls actually do wait until they are older than 12 & 13 to have sex.

My girls are 12, and they are waiting for the vaccine.

[metmom]

SO we’re looking at 290,000 estimated cases our of about 3,000,000,000 women. That’s how much percent of 1 %?

[luckystarmom]

I really want my 12 year old daughters to be 18 before they have it. Ultimately, I hope they wait to have sex when they are married, but I’m really shooting for them to wait until 18. At 18, they can decide to have the vaccine or not.

One of my daughters has a brain injury and seizures. I think the risk from this vaccine may be too great in any case.

[mysterio]

Where the heck do you get those stats from?

Link

[luckystarmom]

My ob/gyn recommended that my 12 year old daughters get it.

However, my daughter’s heart doctor agreed with my opinions on the vaccine. We all agreed that my 12 year old daughters were not sexually active, so we could wait.

[mysterio]

Why would you get it if you are not sexually active?

Because eventually your daughters will most likely marry. And while they may be morally virtuous, you can't guarantee the person they marry fully discloses his sexual past.

I support your right to make whatever choice you want to with the vaccine.

[mysterio]

SO we’re looking at 290,000 estimated cases our of about 3,000,000,000 women.

No. That's deaths per year, not cases.

[luckystarmom]

But if you have a 12 or 13 year old (I have twin 12 year old girls), I can probably wait a good 4-6 years before we have to make that decision.

Hopefully, my daughters will wait until they are adults to have sex, then they can make the decision as informed adults.

I would recommend that my daughter with a brain injury and seizures not get the vaccine ever because she can just be careful with her behavior (and hopefully her husband’s behavior).

[metmom]

OK, deaths per year then. What’s the number?

And how many could have been prevented by regular PAP tests? That would cut the number of deaths down even more.

[metmom]

OK, deaths per year then. What’s the percent?

And while we’re at it, that’s less than 4,000 out of 304,000,000 in the US.

And how many could have been prevented by regular PAP tests? That would cut the number of deaths down even more.

[mysterio]

Number of deaths each year from cervical cancer is 288,000 worldwide, from what I could find by googling it. The vaccine covers the three viruses that cause 70 percent of the cases.

Look, don't want your kids to get the vaccine? That's fine by me. I'm just here to add some perspective to the hyperbole that is the main weapon of the anti-vaccine crowd. I don't want to see anyone forced to get the shot. But I also don't want someone reading one side of the story on some internet message board and then a person ends up getting cancer when it could have been easily and safely prevented.

[TXBubba]

Here in Texas our governor tried to make the "jab" required unless the parents made the effort to apply for a release. That bombed big time so it is still voluntary here.

However, another point brought up was that too many girls were told this vaccine would prevent cervical cancer period. They weren't told it was just for certain strains of STDs.

The OB/GYNs were against it because it gave a false sense of security to girls who then didn't feel the need to have an annual exam. Being a woman myself, I can see why someone would love to use this excuse not to have an annual. However, that is when a cancer will be caught in the early stages.

[angcat]

I feel that when my daughter goes to college she is on her own and she can get the shot. I can only hope that she follows the morals I have taught her after that.

[WV Mountain Mama]

Quote from CDC. "It is important to get tested for cervical cancer because 6 of 10 cervical cancers occur in women who have never received a Pap test or have not been tested in the past five years."

Keep in mind, many people will have an HPV infection at some time in their lives, but few women will get cervical cancer."

And last year from the CDC's website, the vast majority of women dying from the cancer were sex industry workers. I think I will talk to my daughter about being selective with partners, getting yearly pap smears and not being a hooker.

[WV Mountain Mama]

Ping to 55 for your pap test answer.

[metmom]

And last year from the CDC's website, the vast majority of women dying from the cancer were sex industry workers.

Interesting. It appears that increased exposure to sperm is a contributing factor in the development of cervical cancer. The sex industry workers would not only be more likely to contract HPV but obviously have the other factor in there.

I wonder what the statistics look like if that population were removed from the statistics; what the cancer rate for the general population of low risk women is? After all, those seem to be the ones this vaccine is targeting. I seriously doubt that most prostitutes are going to be lining up for the vaccine. Likely, they're already infected.

[Danae]

Golly, if kids got educated that a sexually transmitted disease gets to them and might kill them, and were taught NOT to do that, MAYBE such vaccines would not even be relevant... you think?

Personal responsibility, that’s whats missing from society today.

[metmom]

The justification for giving this vaccine to the general population deteriorates by the day as more information about risk factors, preventative measures, and side effects comes to light.

[metmom]

OK, a little math....

1,340 reported reactions from the vaccine out of 700,000 girls is .19%

4,000 deaths in the US from cervical cancer among approximately 124,000,000 women (the approximate population of women over the age of 15 in the US) is .003 %.

You have .19 divided by .003 is 63.3. You stand a 63 times more chance of having a reportable side effect than you have of dying from the cancer, presuming that you never go for PAP tests and don’t catch it in time.