[NVIC] HPV Vaccine Controversy

[Guest guest]

" There is a small but dedicated group of people who oppose other

vaccinations, and I wondered where these people would come down on this

issue. After all, this vaccination could prevent not just a serious disease

but a deadly form of cancer—one with which, in 2006, the American Cancer

Society estimates that 9,700 women will be diagnosed and from which 3,700

women will die. "

I wonder................I guess I'm part of the small but dedicated

Sheri

National Vaccine Information Center Newsletter

e-NEWS

" The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) critiques vaccines and

educates the public about the risk of serious reactions. According to its

website, the NVIC believes that Gardasil was fast- tracked by the FDA

without proper safety testing. Their chief concern is that " Gardasil

contains 225 mcg of aluminum and, although aluminum adjuvants have been

used in vaccines for decades, they were never tested for safety in clinical

trials. . . . Animal and human studies have shown that aluminum can cause

nerve cell death and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to

enter the brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site

leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue. " The NVIC claims that

90 percent of study participants who received Gardasil and 85 percent who

took the placebo (which, incidentally, also contained aluminum) complained

of one or more adverse reactions including pain, swelling, headache, fever,

nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, and myalgia. " - The Village Voice,

Aug. 17, 2006

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Village Voice, NY

August 17, 2006

Will the HPV vaccine encourage sexual freedom or right-wing lunatics?

by Tristan Taormino

Conservatives are winning most of the battles over sex education.

Abstinence-only programs have gained such a hold that I've lost hope of

people under 18 getting honest, useful information about sexuality in a

public school classroom. The right wing's refusal to teach teens or provide

contraception to them is supported by flawed ideas: (1) To acknowledge that

young people are sexual beings robs them of their innocence; and (2) if we

give them sexual information and make condoms, latex gloves, dental dams,

and birth control easily available, they will run out and have sex because

we encouraged them. When the FDA approved the human papilloma virus (HPV)

vaccine earlier this year, women's-health and reproductive-rights advocates

braced for another battle engaging sexual freedom, choice, and consent.

In June the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) voted unanimously to recommend that all

girls age 11 and 12 receive the HPV vaccine. Research has shown that the

majority of cervical cancers are caused by HPV. In the U.S., approximately

6.2 million people a year contract HPV; at least half of all sexually

active people will be infected with the virus at some time in their lives,

making it the most common sexually transmitted disease out there.

Studies found that the HPV vaccine was most effective when given before a

woman became sexually active; while 11 or 12 is the suggested age, the

committee recommended the vaccine be given to females as young as nine. The

vaccine, Gardasil, was developed by Merck and targets four (of more than

100) strains of the HPV virus most likely to cause genital warts and

cervical cancer; together, the four types cause 70 percent of cervical

cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. Although the CDC's acceptance of

the committee's recommendations is likely, there are important unresolved

issues.

Who will foot the bill for the proposed widespread immunization? (Retail

price: $120 per dose or $360 for the full series of three doses.) Insurance

companies usually cover ACIP-recommended vaccines, but only Aetna and

WellPoint Inc. have officially committed to covering it thus far. The

committee also recommended that the vaccine be funded by the federal

program that provides no-cost immunizations to children on Medicaid as well

as uninsured and underinsured kids. In addition, Merck has said it will

establish a program for uninsured women 19 and older to receive free

vaccines through private practitioners who offer other free Merck

medications. None of these programs are in place yet.

Each state sets guidelines about what vaccinations students must have in

order to attend school. (In nearly every state, parents can refuse to

vaccinate for personal or religious reasons.) At issue now is whether

states will make the HPV vaccine mandatory or not. Most conservative

groups, including the Family Research Council, backed off their original

objection to the vaccine and now support its widespread use. However,

they've clung to their moral high ground in their opposition to making the

vaccine mandatory. They claim that it's all about choice (ironic, huh?),

but let's be real: They need to separate themselves from the promiscuous

masses somehow. It's as if they're saying, " Oh, we totally agree that girls

should be getting that HPV vaccine.

But our girls don't need to get it because they are virgins now and will

be virgins until their wedding day. But we have no problem with other

people's skanky, slutty daughters getting the shot. " To support its

compulsory use would contradict their investment in teaching—and believing

their kids are practicing— abstinence until marriage.

Their morality hits the most disadvantaged girls: If a state does not make

the vaccine mandatory, it may not receive necessary federal funding to

support programs for low-income and uninsured girls. Right- wing parents'

opposition to mandatory vaccination could also put their own daughters'

health at risk. Teenage girls can get STD information, birth control, and

in 17 states, an abortion without parental permission or notification. Yet

doctors need permission from parents to administer any vaccine to someone

under 18. Parents in denial about their teenagers' current or future sexual

activity can prevent them from getting the HPV vaccine unless a law is

passed saying otherwise.

There is a small but dedicated group of people who oppose other

vaccinations, and I wondered where these people would come down on this

issue. After all, this vaccination could prevent not just a serious disease

but a deadly form of cancer—one with which, in 2006, the American Cancer

Society estimates that 9,700 women will be diagnosed and from which 3,700

women will die.

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) critiques vaccines and

educates the public about the risk of serious reactions. According to its

website, the NVIC believes that Gardasil was fast-tracked by the FDA

without proper safety testing. Their chief concern is that " Gardasil

contains 225 mcg of aluminum and, although aluminum adjuvants have been

used in vaccines for decades, they were never tested for safety in clinical

trials. . . . Animal and human studies have shown that aluminum can cause

nerve cell death and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to

enter the brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site

leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue. "

The NVIC claims that 90 percent of study participants who received Gardasil

and 85 percent who took the placebo (which, incidentally, also contained

aluminum) complained of one or more adverse reactions including pain,

swelling, headache, fever, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, and

myalgia.

These issues will be debated in the coming year, especially at the state

level. Unlike other current arguments, the HPV vaccine debate raises highly

charged issues surrounding teenagers and sex. We must not let religious

zealots wave signed virginity contracts in our faces to distract us from

the real issue. This is about a potentially life-saving vaccine: who will

get it, who won't, and who will pay for it in the end.

NVIC E-News is a free service of the National Vaccine Information Center

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NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does not

receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President and Co-

founder.

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed

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NVIC

National Vaccine Information Center

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Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

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