Re: Merck suspends lobbying for Gardasil vaccine Originally Posted by sailgurlie 
One of my very good friend's daughter DIED shortly after recieving this vaccine. This young lady was 19 y.o. and in very good health. She was heading out for a run (yes- really) and collapsed in the hall of her college dorm. The autopsy revealed a huge clot (pulmonary) and many small clots all throughout her blood supply. The ED doctor told my friend (mom) that she had not seen anything quite like it. She was on low dose BCP's to decrease skin issues. Her family had NO cardiac or blood disorders or history.
Merck and the FDA still insist that the vaccine is safe, there have been close to 10,000 adverse reactions reported to the VAERS system. Many are not serious but there has been more than one case of Guillian-Barre syndrome and other strange neurological syndromes affecting previously healthy young ladies that have received this vaccine. I believe that the number of deaths is at 20, last time I checked. There have been millions of doses given, so Merck states these deaths are no BIG DEAL. But, let me tell you if it's your kid or a kid you love, it most certainly is...
In the US, cervical cancer is not an epidemic and can be caught early and treated successfully with regular PAP screening. Having the vaccine does NOT remove the need for this screening. And HPV, even though it is highly transmittable (sexually) it is NOT something that you will get by sitting next to a classmate, like measles. So, the push to mandate this vaccine is obviously a result of heavy lobbying and inappropriate marketing (fear mongering). I am a peds nurse and all for vaccines and even mandating vaccines that are appropriate. This simply is not something that should be mandated.
Recent articles have discussed the long term efficacy of this drug and that the cost to immunize and then re-immunize in addition to PAPS may be much less cost effective and less clinically effective in reducing cervical cancer than PAPs alone.
In 3rd world countries, this vaccine could truly save lives as PAPs are not done regularly- but you don't see Merck giving it away... it's been heavily marketed in the US, UK, Australia and Canada... countries that can pay!
Give your child the injection now, if you must. Or wait, and see how this plays out. It's up to you. Just know that my lovely young friend is certainly "one less"- but not in the sense that Merck is selling.
It is always sad to lose a child, but to just blame it on the vaccine when she was taking low dose BCP which are known to cause blood clots is big jump in cause and effect.
This is from the CDC:
"Deaths
VAERS received 21 reports of death following Gardasil vaccination (17 were U.S. reports, 4 were foreign reports). Of the U.S. reports, only 12 reports contained the level of information adequate for further analysis.
After careful review of those reports, VAERS could not establish a causal relationship between vaccination and death.
For the remaining 5 U.S. reports of death, one is in the process of being followed up, and for 4 reports, we were unable to obtain any patient identifying information; therefore, we could not confirm death outcomes.
Note: While Gardasil was being tested in the U.S. before it was licensed,
10 people in the group that received the HPV vaccine and 7 people in the placebo group died during the trials. None of the deaths was considered vaccine-related."
Here is the statistics on cervical cancer death rates:
"The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2008, about 11,070 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Some researchers estimate that non-invasive cervical cancer (carcinoma in situ) is about 4 times more common than invasive cervical cancer.
About 3,870 women will die from cervical cancer in the United States during 2008. Cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. The cervical cancer death rate declined by 74% between 1955 and 1992.
The main reason for this change is the increased use of the Pap test. This screening procedure can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops. It can also find early cervical cancer in its most curable stage. The death rate from cervical cancer continues to decline by nearly 4% a year. "
It is simple fact that not all women will go in for regular pap smears whether it be for personal or financial reasons.
I don't trust any pharmaceutical company as far as I can throw them, but it doesn't seem like there is enough compelling evidence at this stage to do anything but completely investigate each incident. Keep in mind there are serious adverse events and deaths from all vaccines all the time. Whether there is more from the HPV vaccine is yet to be seen.
I appreciate you posting this new information. I hadn't been aware of any news of potential increased risks with the HPV vaccine until you posted it here.
transmitted* virus?
Nursing News