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I’m not letting my 12 year old get it. I will chat with the Dr. next month just to see what she says.

Do your own research -- most doctors know frighteningly little about vaxes. They've all (regardless of specialty) had the same 1-day training in med school (basically a recitation of the pharma-friendly CDC "Parent Pages) and most won't even know the ingredients listed on the package insert.

Caveat Emptor.

GARDASIL* is a non-infectious recombinant, quadrivalent vaccine prepared from the highly purified virus-like particles (VLPs) of the major capsid (L1) protein of HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18.

It was noted in the trials that in women already infected with strain 16 or 18, the vaccine actually caused lesions. This concern was not mentioned again after approval.

You could still develop cancer from any of the other 30 or so strains that can lead to cervical cancer. Understanding of course that it is very rare for any HPV infection to lead to cervical cancer, particularly with regular pap screenings. There are over 100 types of HPV.

Dr. Nancy Miller of the FDA, who was on the Gardasil review committee, said Gardasil does not necessarily protect against one or more of the four viruses in people already infected before they get the vaccine, and can increase their risk for precursors to cervical cancer.

In addition, the FDA staff highlighted five cases where children with birth defects were born to women who received the vaccine around the time of conception.

Most women who catch the virus clear it just fine, and are immune for life. Most women who catch it do so when they're fairly young, too.

So if the vax immunity wears off when you're 40 or 50, and you catch it at that time, your chances of clearing it without incident might be smaller.

HPV also causes genital warts (condyloma acuminata) which are growths of the cervicovaginal, vulvar, and the external genitalia that rarely progress to cancer.

HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 are common HPV types.

HPV 16 and 18 cause approximately:
• 70% of cervical cancer, AIS, CIN 3, VIN 2/3, and VaIN 2/3 cases; and
• 50% of CIN 2 cases.

HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 cause approximately:
• 35 to 50% of all CIN 1, VIN 1, and VaIN 1 cases; and
• 90% of genital wart cases.