Comparing Polio with HPV is a bit of a stretch of examples.
Why not compare it to small pox while you are at it.
This vaccine, is not 100% effective, does not stop “cervical cancer”. In fact not one study ever done on it proves it can stop cervical cancer.
What it can do, when it works, is prevent certain types of HPV infections, when it works.
The devil is always in the details.
Yes certain HPV infections if they infect the vagina etc can cause Cancer later in life. However, these are not the only causes of cervical cancer.
There are about 11,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the US per year. The 5 year survival rate of cervical cancer is 71%. If detected in the earliest stages, its 5 year survival rate is 92%. With both of these rates increasing annually.
Cervical cancer is also something that generally develops later in life, rarely seen in women under 20 years old and generally are mid life when it develops.
So, knowing your child could be permanently disabled or drop dead from a side effect for vaccine a disease that even if she contracts it, likely will not happen until she’s about 40, and she’ll likely survive by 70-90% or more depending on when its detected, is it worth the risk??
I hope I never have to bury a child, but if I do, I hope I’m hoping they are in their 40s, rather than in their teens.
Honest risk/reward on this vaccine doesn’t equate to a “no brainer” when its properly analyzed.
Let women make up their own minds on this, but don’t think screwing with a 9 year olds autoimmune system, like this vaccine does, doesn’t come with some very searious and real long term risks. Not all reactions will be known for years, there are long term risks especially when given to young girls, that won’t be known for years.
This has been my concern all along. Why the rush to vaccinate millions of girls (many of whom ARE NOT AT RISK) against a virus (which IS TREATABLE) that sometimes causes a TREATABLE form of cancer?
NOBODY can say what the effects of Gardasil will be on these girls in 10 or 15 years.
Thanks for your post with a good summary of facts. I did research on this awhile ago (my girls are 12). Decided not to do it. If anything, we might wait a few years and see how the vaccine works out.
From the post, 39 deaths have been reported as "attributed" to the vaccine out of 12,424 adverse events. That percentage is ~0.3%. Considering this is a value based on the information provided in the post, how do you equate the risk of death from the vaccine (0.3% per adverse event - not total vaccinations) to an average five year death rate for cervical cancer cases of 29%?
Mostly curious how your math works out...