Posted on 09/20/2007 4:02:03 PM PDT by wagglebee
TORONTO, September 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Canada, in large part due to aggressive behind the scenes lobbying, rolls out the not-comprehensively-tested Merck HPV vaccine for girls as young as nine, a look at developments on the vaccine south of the border should cause Canadians serious concern. In the United States a similar lobby campaign by the same company launched the mass HPV vaccination of girls beginning in June last year.
In just little over a year, the HPV vaccine have been associated with at least five deaths, not to mention thousands of reports of adverse effects, hundreds deemed serious, and many that required hospitalization.
Judicial Watch, a US government watchdog, became concerned while noting large donations to key politicians originating from Merck. A freedom of information request from the group in May of this year discovered that during the period from June 8, 2006 - when the vaccines received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - to May 2007 there were 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine reported to the FDA.
Three deaths were related to the vaccine, including one of a 12-year-old. One physician's assistant reported that a female patient "died of a blood clot three hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine." Two other reports, on girls 12 and 19, reported deaths relating to heart problems and/or blood clotting.
As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities.
Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77% of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.
Judicial Watch informed LifeSiteNews.com that a subsequent request for information on adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine, covering the period from May 2007 to September 2007, found that an additional 1800 adverse reactions have been reported, including more deaths. exactly how many more deaths will be released in the coming days, Judicial Watch's Dee Grothe informed LifeSiteNews.com.
The LifeSiteNews.com report on the moneyed lobbying efforts of Merck in the US was reported in February. (see http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07020204.html )
However the Canadian lobby effort by Merck's Canadian affiliate Merck Frosst Canada has been underway using powerful lobbyists with close connections to the politicians who have signed off on massive government funded vaccination programs.
The Toronto Star recently reported that Merck Frosst Canada Ltd hired public relations giant Hill & Knowlton to push the immunization strategies using some well-connected lobbyists: Ken Boessenkool, a former senior policy adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Bob Lopinski, formerly with Premier Dalton McGuinty's office; and Jason Grier, former chief of staff to Health Minister George Smitherman.
Harper's Conservative Government approved Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil in July and later announced a $300 million program to give the vaccine to girls from ages 9-13. That of course is only the beginning of what Merck likely hopes will be a much larger vaccination of all potentially sexually active women in Canada. In August, McGuinty's Ontario Liberals, on the advice of his Health Minister George Smitherman, announced that all Grade 8 girls will have free access to Gardasil.
One of the major complaints by physicians is that the HPV vaccination program has been implemented before adequate testing has been completed. Long-term effects of the vaccine remain unknown. Many are asking why the huge, seemingly reckless rush?
At least one answer to that question comes from the fact that Merck currently is the sole provider of an HPV vaccine with its Gardasil product. A competing HPV vaccine, Glaxo Smith Kline's Cervarix, is set to hit the market in January 2008. As more children are vaccinated with Gardasil, fewer will be able to later receive the necessary repeat boosters of a competing, incompatible vaccine. Merck is in a race to capture as much of the market as it can, consuming many millions of government tax dollars.
US sales of Gardasil are expected to reach $1 billion in the first year of its availability.
The reports from the FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System detailing the three previous deaths are available here:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007_docs/GardasilVAERSDeath...
The reports detailing all 1637 adverse effects are here:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007_docs/GardasilVAERSRepor...
Because ANYTHING that seems to promote teen sexuality is rushed to market.
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Many of us predicted a year ago that there would be serious problems with this vaccine.
A HUGE reason to homeschool!
Thank you very much for posting this article.
This information should scare the crud out of any and all parents of young girls.
This vaccine is absolutely being pushed...it is dangerous.
Once again, it’s all about money.
bttt
If HillaryCare becomes a reality, look for this vaccine to become mandatory.
“This information should scare the crud out of any and all parents of young girls.”
See #3.
BTW - My wife and I are the parents of four young girls. This doesn’t scare me a bit. Why? See #3. ;-)
None of these statistics would bother a dedicated Liberal who wants big government to control our lives.
We already decided that our (homeschooled) daughter will not be getting this vaccine, and if our family doctor ever does anything more than mention it as an available option (i.e., really trying to push it) then we will be finding a new doctor.
Sorry to hear of kids getting sick from this, but we told them so!
Now...how long before the Nanny State Freepers show up on this thread that insisted we were dooming our kids to getting STDs because “they’re gonna do it anyway; you’d give your kid a vaccination for the measles, wouldn’t you?” *SMIRK*
Doesn’t look good...
So much for Harper being “conservative.”
They were the same ones who swore there would be no side effects. I guess they forgot about “wonder drugs” like thalidomide, Phen-fen and Vioxx.
The latest hype has the vaccine protecting against oral cancers; if they can sell this then boys get added to the mix as well.
There was another thread about this drug this morning about how further research has indicated it covers more strains than originally thought.........and was posted by one of the aforesaid nanny staters who was defending the merck researchers......
hey, its only girls....
There is no way that the effects of a drug that is given to girls at the onset of puberty can possibly be known without decades of research. How do they know that these girls won’t be sterile when they reach their twenties or that they won’t have complications with pregnancies or birth defects.
So many of the comments regarding this confuse the heck out of me. There are so many good reasons to have girls vaccinated with this.
This has NOTHING to do with pushing sexuality. This has to do with preventing cancer of the uterus. This cancer is a HUGE killer. Vaccinating at these recommended ages ensures that the girl is protected well in advance to any sexual activity. I assume at SOME point in their lives.. whether it be 14 or 40, they’re going to have sex (unless their lesbians). Well over 70% of males carry the HPV virus, so it is a huge risk.
2 - Why does the child even need to KNOW what the vaccine is for? It’s a shot.. like any of the other number of shots they receive.. so to say that it promotes sexual activity is just not true. Handing out condoms in schools promotes sexual activity.
Sorry, but I work in the pharma industry, and we likely did research on this particular drug. Most of this hysteria that I hear sounds more to me like the “Down with the pharmaceutical industry” stuff to me.
Oh.. and 3500 adverse affects.. When doing research.. adverse affects can range anywhere from slight redness at the injection site, to watery eyes. Now the deaths reported.. those should and will be seriously looked into!
Believe me, I have exactly that same concerns.......additionally it has never been tested on girls as young as 9, exactly my daughter’s age. I believe the youngest guinea pigs were 12 or 13.
In other words, a PPP benefitting the Canadian government and Merck. The big loser: parental freedom.
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