HPV PRESENTATION AND STUDY
COMMENTARY: Update COMING
CONTENTS
THE DARK SIDE OF GARDASIL
GARDASIL and HPV VACCINE CAUSING DEATH AND PERMANENT DISABILITY
GARDASIL PROTECTS AGAINST JUST FOUR OF THE 100 TYPES OF HPV VIRUSES
THE MURDERING OF OUR DAUGHTERS
Gardasil HPV Vaccine Related Death Rate Rising Among Women
Forced Sterilisation Slovakia
SLOVAKIA THE STERILISATION OF ROMA WOMEN Part 1 (year 2003 document)
Czech Roma still seeking justice for forced sterilizations
Slovakia proposes radical Roma ‘solution’
Forced Sterilization of Romani women in Slovakia
Slovakia Called on the Carpet over Forced S
Slovakia Sterilization Practices Criticized
Court hears claim of forced Roma sterilization
Prominent Scientist Warns of HPV Vaccine Dangers
THE HPV VACCINE: PREVENTIVE CARE OR HUMAN SACRIFICE?
THE HPV VACCINE: HERD IMMUNITY OR HUMAN SACRIFICE?
CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE WINS FEDERAL APPROVAL 2006
12 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
FDA APPROVES CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE 2006
MERCK LOBBIES FOR HPV VACCINE TO BECOME LAW 2007
VIDEO: TEXAS-GOVERNOR-ORDERS-STD-VACCINE-ALL-GIRLS
Rick Perry: Texas governor orders STD vaccine for all girls 2007
DEMOCRATIC AD SLAMS TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY OVER HPV VACCINE 2007
TEXAS GOVERNOR ORDERS STD VACCINE FOR ALL GIRLS 2007
Gov Perry Under Pressure to Rescind Cervical Cancer Vaccination Order to Protect Girls From HPV
TEXAS LAWMAKERS ASK GOV. PERRY TO RESCIND ORDER MANDATING HPV VACCINATION FOR GIRLS ENTERING SIXTH GRADE
Not so fast on cervical cancer vaccinations
TEXAS MANDATES CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
FDA PANEL BACKS GIVING HPV VACCINE GARDASIL TO YOUNG MALES
INFERTILITY CONCERN WITH GARDASIL HPV VACCINE
EUGENICS VACCINES STERILISATION ABORTION
Texas Governor Orders STD Vaccine For All Girls
Bill Gates: Planning for the Promise of HPV vaccines
3 AP girls dead in drug trial
GUJARAT GIRLS WERE ALSO GIVEN CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
4 WERE GIVEN CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
BOOK THOSE BEHIND AP GIRLS’ DEATH: LEFT
AP MEDICAL OFFICER DENIES VACCINE DEATHS
THE CERVICAL CANCER BAZAAR
GATES STEERS CLEAR OF HPV VACCINE ROW
GATES-SUPPORTED FOUNDATION BACKS WORLDWIDE HPV VACCINATION
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THE DARK SIDE OF GARDASIL
September 11, 2013 By admin 58 Comments
By Ashley Adair
Ashley lives on Gardasil’s dark side
My name is Ashley Adair. I live in Georgia. I have suffered for five years from the side effects of something I thought would help me. I received the Gardasil vaccine because the people and doctors all around me kept telling me “OH! This vaccine is the best thing to happen to the medical industry!” Of course my mom and I fell for it like many others. I want to let people know about the dark side of this vaccine.
Before the HPV Vaccine, I was the most energetic child. I went to school for 8 hours, then went to 3 hours of gymnastics practice, finishing with homework at night. My weekends were filled with gymnastics meets. After gymnastics I went straight into competition cheerleading, which were the same hours. I basically lived in the gym and loved every second of it, I was blessed. Overall I was a healthy child.
I received my first injection in April, 2008. My injection did hurt more than a normal injection. I had mild soreness and redness after. At the time I didn’t realize the symptoms I was having. I had slight fatigue, and I would occasionally have a very sore throat. I couldn’t stick my tongue out and I just threw it off as an allergic reaction to chlorine because I was swimming a lot.
The nightmare began on June, 2008. I received the second shot and I noticed it hurt a bit more than the first. I almost cried a bit which is very much unlike me. I got a little lightheaded at the checkout line. After 30 minutes I was fine.
The very next night I told my mom I was very sick. I was crying in pain with my pelvic and legs absolutely killing me. I was running a fever and I was very nauseous. So like a parent would, she took me to the emergency room. Of course, doctors only listen to one symptom and told me I had a stomach virus that they couldn’t do anything and sent me home.
The next day I was so exhausted and slept till about 3 o’clock. My mom came home from work and I went outside and noticed I had some kind of rash all over my body. It looked like someone took a fine point purple permanent marker and dotted it all over me. My mom immediately took me to my regular pediatrician and he could not figure out what was on me. He ran a lot of blood work on me and we went home until we could receive the blood work news. My mom received a phone call around 9 O’clock. One of the scariest phone calls she has ever received.
My doctor told her I needed to get back to the ER ASAP. He told her that my blood work was CRITICAL, and the rash on me was called a petechial rash. My red blood cells and white blood cells were completely wiped out. They told me if I were to do a handstand my gums would start bleeding and I would bleed to death. If I caught a common cold my body would not be able to fight it off and I would die. Over the next 6 weeks I went through so many different rashes, EXTREME fatigue, joint pains, leg pains, shoulder pains, dizziness, and low blood pressure.
I finally went to an infectious disease specialist and he told me not to get the third shot or I wouldn’t be here.
I finally started getting better. At the age of 15 I still had not received my menstrual cycle. I went to an OB/GYN and he put me on birth control to start my period. That should have been a sign then but we didn’t think about it. I never gained my energy back.
My senior year things started acting up again. I got a hemangioma on my lip which is very strange because it is mostly babies that will get a hemangioma, not adults. After that happened, I started getting very sick. I missed weeks of school at a time.
I kept getting severe bronchitis and I just couldn’t shake it off. I also had to go to the doctor because I was very depressed. I was then put on Zoloft. Luckily my teachers worked with me and I graduated with A’s and B’s.
Throughout the 5 years after I received the shot I always slept, never had energy, and kept getting what I thought was growing pains. In June of 2012 my growing pains were getting worse in my knees/legs. So my mom took me to the doctor and they couldn’t really figure out what was wrong. They put me in a knee brace and gave me medicine and sent me off. I also just did not feel good at all and my doctor ran some more blood work on me. We then found out I had Hypothyroidism, I am now on medicine for that.
I had 8 epidural steroid injections, none of which worked. I also was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia. But the fibromyalgia is still being researched on me. My Epstein Barr igG is 544.0 and the normal is 16.0 and below. And my blood time is critical. They could not get it to clot so they finally had to put pressure to it. I also tested positive to atypical anca.
From June2012-now (August 2013), I face every day with severe pain. My pain is in my lower back, pelvic, hips, back of leg, and knee. My legs will also turn a dark purple almost black and it will travel all the way down to my feet. I had an MRI for my back and found out that I am missing an ovary and have a mass on my uterus. Of course, when I went to the OBGYN for it, he did a sonogram and couldn’t find the mass nor my ovary. He threw me off like it was no big deal. I am now lost on whether I have an ovary or a mass. I have discovered in this situation that doctors really will not try to help you. They just don’t believe you or throw you off to another doctor if they can’t figure it out.
I also have lost family members because of this problem. Not everyone will believe you or know what you are going through, but I am here to telling about what happened to me, so no girl or boy will have to go through the misery that I am going through.
I want to create something good out of something terrible.
http://sanevax.org/the-dark-side-of-gardasil/
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GARDASIL and HPV VACCINE CAUSING DEATH AND PERMANENT DISABILITY
By Dr. Mercola
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Naomi Snell, a 28-year-old woman in Melbourne, Australia, is leading a class-action civil lawsuit against drug maker Merck after suffering autoimmune and neurological complications following injections with the HPV vaccine, Gardasil.
After receiving the first of three doses of the vaccine, Naomi suffered convulsions, severe back and neck pain, and lost her ability to walk.
Doctors actually diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis, which was later retracted and labeled a neurological reaction to the vaccine.
Seven other women, who say they have suffered various physical problems, including anaphylaxis and miscarriage, after receiving Gardasil may also join the civil lawsuit, and this is likely only the beginning, as Gardasil is being implicated in a growing number of serious, permanent and sometimes deadly adverse reactions.
Multiple Sclerosis-Like Symptoms and Paralysis Not Unusual After HPV Vaccination
Unfortunately, stories like Naomi’s are all too common in relation to Gardasil.
One of the vaccine injury cases featured in the movie The Greater Good is that of Gabi Swank, a 15-year-old honor student who decided to get the Gardasil vaccine after seeing a “Be One Less” Gardasil vaccine advertisement on TV.
Like so many young girls, she wasn’t warned about any possible side effects when she got the shots, which are given as a series of three injections.
At the time the documentary was filmed, she had already suffered two strokes and experienced partial paralysis. She also lost part of her vision and today suffers frequent seizures. When she was in high school, many days she had to use a wheelchair to get around school due to muscle pain and chronic fatigue.
A similar reaction happened to 13-year-old Jenny Tetlock, who began seeing signs of trouble just one month after she was vaccinated against the HPV virus. Fifteen months later, a degenerative muscle disease left her nearly completely paralyzed.
Neurological symptoms such as these were also reported in a study done in 2009 by neurologist Dr. Ian Sutton. He reported five cases of multiple sclerosis-like symptoms emerging shortly after women received the Gardasil vaccine, noting:
“We report five patients who presented with multifocal or atypical demyelinating syndromes within 21 days of immunization with the quadrivalent human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil. Although the target population for vaccination, young females, has an inherently high risk for MS, the temporal association with demyelinating events in these cases may be explained by the potent immuno-stimulatory properties of HPV virus-like particles which comprise the vaccine.”
Further, Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, recently issued an update on adverse reaction reports relating to Gardasil.
The documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) detail 26 new deaths reported to the government following HPV vaccination between September 1, 2010 and September 15, 2011. That’s 26 reported deaths of young, previously healthy, girls after Gardasil vaccination in just one year.
Other serious side effects reported during that time frame included:
Seizures
Paralysis
Blindness
Pancreatitis
Speech problems
Short term memory loss
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Ovarian cysts
Between May 2009 and September 2010, 16 deaths after Gardasil vaccination were reported. For that timeframe, there were also 789 reports of “serious” Gardasil adverse reactions, including 213 cases of permanent disability and 25 diagnosed cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome, Judicial Watch reported.
Serious Vaccine Reactions, Deaths, Often Labeled “Coincidence”
While it is not clear exactly what is causing so many adverse reactions, it is known that Gardasil contains genetically engineered virus-like protein particles as well as aluminum, which can affect immune function.
Further, according to the vaccine manufacturer product information insert, the vaccine has not been evaluated for the potential to cause cancer or to be toxic to genes.
In fact, Merck only studied the Gardasil vaccine in fewer than 1,200 girls under 16 prior to it being released to the market under a fast-tracked road to licensure. To date, most of the serious side effects, including deaths, that occurred during the pre-licensure clinical trials and post marketing surveillance have been written off as a “coincidence” by Merck researchers and government health officials.
But on the National Vaccine Information Center’s (NVIC) Web site, you can read about Gabi Swank’s Gardasil reaction and other descriptions of women and girls who have suffered serious health deterioration after Gardasil shots and, in some cases, have died shortly after receiving this vaccine. The growing Gardasil vaccine injury toll has become too large to ignore:
Christina Tarsell, a 21-year-old college student majoring in studio arts at Bard College, who died suddenly and without explanation shortly after receiving the third Gardasil shot in June 2008.
Megan, a 20-year-old college student who died suddenly, without explanation, about one month after receiving her third Gardasil shot. No cause of death was found.
Ashley, a 16-year-old who became chronically ill after receiving Gardasil, and now suffers regular life-threatening episodes of seizure-like activity, difficulty breathing, back spasms, paralysis, dehydration, memory loss and tremors.
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Gardasil Protects Against Just FOUR of the 100 Types of HPV Viruses
There are more than 100 types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). Of them, about 40 types of HPV are sexually transmitted and 15 of these types are most associated with cervical cancers and genital warts in women and men. HPV infections that remain unidentified and untreated for a long time are also associated with development of vaginal, vulvar, penile, anal and oropharyngeal cancers. Some HPV infections can cause minor skin infections and common warts on your hands and feet.
Certain types of chronic HPV infections, which are not identified or treated for a long time, can lead to cervical cancer. It is only when the HPV virus lingers for many years that abnormal cervical cells could turn into cancer. This is why PAP smears identify cervical changes and can prevent cervical cancer deaths far more effectively than the HPV vaccine ever will, because there’s a sufficient amount of time to find and treat any cervical abnormalities if you’re getting regular PAP smears.
It is important to know, however, that over 90 percent of women infected with HPV clear the infection naturally within two years, at which point cervical cells go back to normal.
The death rate from cervical cancer in the United States is 3 per 100,000 and it is estimated that, in 2011, about 12,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,000 died. In 2009, there were about 34,000 deaths from car accidents in the U.S. for a death rate of 11 per 100,000.
Women have a much higher risk of dying in a car accident than dying from cervical cancer!
Cervical cancer rates are even lower in some European countries. The reason why the mortality rate is so low is because — for the vast majority of healthy women living in developed countries like Europe and the U.S. — their immune systems are usually strong enough to naturally clear HPV infection within two years. Again, this happens in more than 90 percent of all cases!
http://youtu.be/TG3mWgsMt-A
Of course, even if you get HPV vaccine, if you contract one of the 40 or more types of HPV that are sexually transmitted and aren’t included in the vaccine, you will not be protected from HPV infections. And, if you’ve already been exposed to one of the four types of viruses in the vaccine, it doesn’t work against those either.
This means that, even if you accept the risks and get vaccinated, your chances of experiencing some form of HPV infection are still very high. Whether or not the HPV virus will lead to genital warts or cervical cancer or other kinds of health problems, however, depends in large part on the state of your immune system and, in the case of cervical cancer, is affected by whether or not you get routine PAP screenings.
Many Teens Mistakenly Think HPV Vaccine Cuts Risk for All STDs…
Unfortunately, according to a recent study nearly one in four girls who get the HPV vaccine mistakenly believes it will also reduce their risk of getting other sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and gonorrhea. Clearly, more education is needed in this area.
The study polled close to 340 girls, average age nearly 17, after their first of three HPV doses, and their mothers. The poll was intended to determine the girls’ perceived risk of getting HPV after the vaccination, their perceived risk of getting other STDs, and their perceived need for continued safer sex behaviors. While the majority of the girls correctly thought the vaccine would not protect them against STDs other than HPV, 24 percent responded they thought the vaccine would reduce their risk of other STDs. According to the authors, those with this misperception were also less likely to be informed about HPV infection and the HPV vaccine in general.
According to the authors:
“Education about HPV vaccines and encouraging communication between girls and their mothers may prevent misperceptions among these adolescents.”
If You Live in California, Your Minor Daughter or Son Can Be Given Gardasil Vaccine Without Your Knowledge or Consent
In October 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown signed bill AB499 that permits minor children as young as 12 years old to be vaccinated with sexually transmitted disease (STD) vaccines like Gardasil — without parental knowledge or parental consent. This means that, if you live in California, school or medical personnel will soon be allowed to give your child Gardasil, hepatitis B vaccine and future vaccines for STD’s without you ever knowing it.
At issue, of course, is whether 12-year-olds are mature enough to fully analyze the benefits versus risks of vaccination (or any medical treatment for that matter), or recognize the benefits of alternatives to STD prevention, such as abstinence or use of condoms. Meanwhile, a child could suffer a serious vaccine reaction and the parent, not knowing the child had been vaccinated, could mistake it for the flu or another less serious health problem, delaying getting the child to an emergency room until it is too late.
Of course, also at issue is whether this law violates long held legal rights for parents to be responsible for making important medical decisions for their children, especially when risk-taking is involved. If a child is injured from complications of a medical procedure or use of a pharmaceutical product, it is the parent who will be legally and financially responsible for providing care for the child. Therefore, the legal right for parents to exercise informed consent to medical risk-taking for minor children, which includes giving consent for use of a pharmaceutical product, such as a vaccine, that carries a risk of injury or death, is an important legal right to defend and protect in America.
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is currently exploring legal options for overturning this new law, which violates parental informed consent rights.
Will Merck Get its Day in Court?
The class-action civil lawsuit in Australia being brought against Merck for injuries and deaths following Gardasil vaccination may help to bring more attention to the risks of this vaccine, which was fast-tracked in the U.S. and brought to market without adequate scientific evidence proving safety and effectiveness. Like in Australia, there are many girls and women in the U.S. speaking out about what happened to them after getting Gardasil shots. If you or a loved one has been harmed by Gardasil or any other vaccine or pharmaceutical product, please consider sharing your story with others so there is greater public awareness about vaccine and prescription drug risks.
Of course, Merck is no stranger to legal action. The company paid out billions in lawsuit claims to tens of thousands harmed by the drug Vioxx, and over the years has had more than $5.5 billion in judgments and fines levied against it. Unfortunately, in the U.S. Merck is protected from civil lawsuits for Gardasil vaccine injuries and deaths because of the liability shield granted to pharmaceutical companies by the U.S. government.
Barbara Loe Fisher, founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, explains:
“In 1986, there were three major drug corporations selling vaccines in the U.S. (Merck, Lederle, Connaught) and now there are eight (Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Astra Zeneca, CSL Biotherapies, Emergent BioSolutions).
That is because, in 1986, Pharma blackmailed Congress into giving them partial liability protection from vaccine injury lawsuits by suggesting they would have to abandon the U.S. childhood vaccine market without a liability shield.
In February of this year [2011], drug companies got what they wanted all along: the U.S. Supreme Court gave Pharma total immunity from lawsuits – even if they could have made a vaccine less harmful.
Vaccines, said the Court, are “unavoidably unsafe.”
So if your child is brain injured by a vaccine that you may not have wanted your child to get in the first place, all you can do is file a claim in the federal vaccine injury compensation program. Even though the program has awarded more than $2 billion dollars to vaccine victims, two out of three plaintiffs are turned away empty handed.
With no liability or accountability for those making, licensing, selling and giving vaccines in America, there are no checks and balances to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective. Doctors, who have been taught to believe that infectious microorganisms should be eradicated from the earth with the mandatory use of multiple vaccines, are as ripe for exploitation as the people they vaccinate.”
What You Can Do to Make a Difference
While it seems “old-fashioned,” the only truly effective actions you can take to protect the right to informed consent to vaccination and expand vaccine exemptions, is to get personally involved in educating your state legislators and the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
Mass vaccination policies are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level, and it is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact.
Signing up for NVIC’s free Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org not only gives you access to practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community, but when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips to make sure your voice is heard.
So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Contact Your Elected Officials
NVIC will help you learn how to effectively write or email your elected state representatives and share your concerns. You might want to call them, or better yet, make an appointment to visit them in person in their office. Don’t let them forget you!
It is so important for you to reach out and make sure your concerns get put on the radar screens of the leaders and opinion makers in your community, especially the politicians you elect and are directly involved in making vaccine laws in your state. These are your elected representatives, so you have a right and a responsibility to let them know what’s really happening in your life and the lives of people you know when it comes to vaccine mandates. Be sure to share the “real life” experiences that you or people you know have had with vaccination.
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine reaction, injury or death, please consider sharing your experience with others. If we don’t share information and experiences with each other, everybody feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.
I must be frank with you – you have to be brave because you might be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the “other side” of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true about vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.
We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations funded by drug companies to dominate the conversation about vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet and treated like nothing more than “statistically acceptable collateral damage” of national one-size-fits-all mass vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury and death. We shouldn’t be treating people like guinea pigs instead of human beings.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the following web pages on the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website at www.NVIC.org:
NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims (http://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Memorial.aspx): View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions (http://www.nvic.org/Ask-Eight-Questions.aspx): Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
Vaccine Freedom Wall (http://www.nvic.org/Forms/Cry-For-Vaccine-Freedom-Wall.aspx): View or post descriptions of harassment by doctors or government officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One that Will Listen and Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don’t want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination.
However, there is hope.
At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they’re starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.
So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.
213 Women Who Took This Suffered Permanent Disability
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/24/hpv-vaccine-victim-sues-merck.aspx?e_cid=20120124_DNL_art_1
Posted by Birth of a New Earth at 2:36 PM
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THE MURDERING OF OUR DAUGHTERS
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 6:57
Dave Hodges
September 17, 2016
The Common Sense Show
“I just wish someone had warned me about Gardasil……. My Jasmine would still be here with us.”
Rhonda Renata
According to the mother of Jasmine Renata, aged 18, her daughter was murdered by Merck. There was no autopsy, no official recrimination of Merck, just a grieving mother left to bury her only daughter.
Unfortunately, this scenario is being played out time and time again and nobody is holding Merck criminallyaccountable for the all-to-deadly results of Gardasil. The reckless use of this killer vaccine continues unabated despite the fact that Merck was recently ordered to pay six million dollars to another parent of a daughter that was murdered by Gardasil. Patient safety be damned the use of this deadly vaccine used to ostensibly treat HPV.
On October 9th, 2011, California governor Brown signed AB 499 into law which provides that the Merck manufactured, Gardasil, designed to prevent cervical cancer, can be administered to children 12 years old and up without parental consent.
First of all, government should not be in the business of mandating personal choices and government should never be allowed to legislate choices which should be reserved for parents with regard to their children’s health and welfare.
Gardasil has resulted in needless tragedy for over 40,000 children who have been vaccinated by well intentioned doctors who are ignorant of the side effects.
The American public should remember Merck, the creator of Vioxx. This is the same Merck, who only after intense pressure from the medical community and the media decided to pull the dangerous drug, Vioxx, from the market after an estimated 140,000 adverse reactions had already occurred. The pulling of Vioxx from the shelves occurred only after a safety trial was stopped because there was an undeniable and increased risk for serious cardiovascular dangers such as heart attacks and strokes from using the drug.
Gardasil Discounted By Its Own Advocates
Dr. Diane Harper, the lead researcher in the effects of Gardasil, recently made a presentation to the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccination. Gardasil was developed by Pharmaceutical giant, Merck, to prevent HPV in sexually active girls. These same findings were presented by Dr. Sam Benjamin on his radio show (KTAR 620AM, Phoenix) on July 30, 2013.
The Gardasil Spokesperson Tells America Why They Should Not Give Gardasil To Our Girls
At the conference, Harper made the following statements:
•” Seventy percent of HPV infections resolve themselves without treatment in one year.
•After two years, the rate of non-treatment remission climbs to 90%.
•Of the remaining 10% of HPV infections, only half go on to develop cervical cancer.
•Eighty percent of all HPV infections occur in the third world.
•There will be decrease in cervical cancer rates until at 70% of the population is vaccinated, including boys… ”the incidence of cervical cancer in the U.S. is so low that “if we get the vaccine and continue PAP screening, we will not lower the rate of cervical cancer in the US.” The highest amount of minimal decrease will appear in 60 years. ”
•There have been no efficacy trials in girls under the age of 15, but Merck is pushing the vaccination of children under five. Harper went on to say that “if you vaccinate a child, she won’t keep immunity in puberty and you do nothing to prevent cervical cancer.”
•When Dr. Harper appeared on ABC News to promote the efficacy of Gardasil, she admitted that “The rate of serious adverse events is greater than the incidence rate of cervical cancer,” and the numbers bear out her statement. Merck and the CDC have determined that 1 out of every 912 who received Gardasil in a large study, (see page 8) died. Yet, the cervical cancer death rate is only 1 out of every 40,000 women per year. In other words, girls are better off not taking the shot because the Gardasil shot kills the girls in greater numbers than does the disease it purports to treat.
Dr. Harper is one of the premier spokespersons for the use of Gardasil. I am certain that all of you are asking what I am already thinking, why is she being so honest about the potential lack of success related to Gardasil? It is called “protecting your malpractice behind” with prior notice.
The New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine found that there remains no conclusive proof that Gardasil altered the course of HPV-16 or HPV-18 infection for which the patient was symptomatic prior to the administration of the first dose.
Gardasil Providers Better Have A Good Attorney
The recent Gardasil study by the CDC claims that the vaccine has significantly reduced HPV infections. However, the study’s results and faulty methodology disprove the claim in the title. the authors’ claim bears little resemblance to the study’s results. The analysis demonstrating that, in reality, no conclusions can be drawn and results of the study are inconsistent, the study design is flawed and is based on non-matched samples, and mixed the groups being compared. The latter two statement are major research flaws. (Note: The author teaches research methods to graduate students).
The results of the study shows that the use of Gardasil is contraindicated as revealed by the following snapshot of the results.
“Ages 20-24saw an infection rate increase from 18.5% to 19.9%—1.08 times more infections.
Ages 25-29saw an infection rate increase from 11.8% to 13.1%—1.11 times more infections.”
The study is an obvious attempt to provide legal cover for Merck because of the multitudes of deaths that have transpired and the fact that Merck has been forced to pay out millions in victim compensation because of the use of the heinous vaccine. However, as my father used to say, the more you stir the proverbial poop, the worse it stinks and Gardasil stinks!
http://beforeitsnews.com/health/2013/09/the-murdering-of-our-daughters-2505112.html
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Gardasil HPV Vaccine Related Death Rate Rising Among Women
Leave a Comment Posted by docakilah on July 29, 2011
Gardasil vaccine has been distributed around the world as a method of prevention for cervical cancer caused by the human papilloma virus. The vaccine, which is made by Merck is marketed to young girls and teens as a way of preventing four strains of HPV that are known to raise risks for cervical cancer. As of May 31, 2010 around 29.5 million doses of the vaccine were spread across the United States alone. There have been 53 deaths reported to the VAERS after Gardasil injections, and if physicians and health officials can work to establish more accurate reporting, we may soon see those numbers go much higher.
From as far away as India and New Zealand reports of life-altering illness and even death are being heard–and could be linked to Gardasil. Many of these reactions have occurred just days or weeks after the shot in previously healthy young girls. Concerned parents no longer have thriving teenage girls, but instead are playing nurse maid to the chronically ill, or grieving a loss that could be linked to Gardasil.
The Centers for Disease Control in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration are working closely with others in the medical field to try to determine a link between Gardasil and diseases like Guillian Barre syndrome, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. The CDC states that as of May of this year there were over 16,000 reports to the vaccine adverse reaction database (known as VAERS) related to reactions after Garadsil injections. Some reactions the CDC calls “non-serious” and includes fainting, nausea, pain and swelling of the injection site.Others are considered “serious. “ To be classified as serious, the reaction should “involve hospitalization, permanent disability, life-threatening illness, and death.” The CDC reports that only 8% of the 16,000 were considered serious. That percentage may seem small, but for the families who have fallen victim to the side effects of Gardasil, it is anything but.
Unfortunately the CDC and FDA will have an even harder time determining just how many adverse reactions have occurred from Gardasil simply because of spotty reporting from physicians. When doctors report to the VAERS, they are often failing to give identifying information like name or address of the patient which makes it impossible for the CDC to follow up on leads. If the true number of reactions was known, and physicians were reporting reactions properly we may have seen an even more dramatic set of numbers related to Gardasil and its link to disease and death rates.
Government health officials say that although they have been able to verify that Gardasil was given prior to the deaths of 29 out of the 53 cases reported so far, that there still is no definitive link that proves Gardasil was the cause.
So how much higher are the numbers of young women and girls who took their vaccine and then fell ill, only to have it called a “coincidence” that was never reported? We may never know the real numbers but if physicians could be properly trained on how and what to report we could soon see that Gardasil is much more damaging than originally thought.
There are now 20,101 reports of adverse reactions and 84 deaths attributed to the HPV vaccines. In September a healthy 40-day old breastfed infant died the day after its mother received her first Gardasil injection. These are serious incidents.
Sane Vax Inc. has written a letter to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner requesting the vaccine be taken off the market.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101025005268/en/S.A.N.E.-Vax-Asks-FDA-Rescind-Approval-Gardasil
And of course at http://truthaboutgardasil.org
For natural remedies and methods to prevent and eliminate HPV or Cervical Cancer please contact Dr Akilah El
Gardasil (HPV Vaccine) Related Death Rate Rising Among Women
Click here to Read Dr Akiah’s inspiring story of how she cured herself natually of stage 4 cervical cancer
http://www.celestialhealing.net/founderstory.htm
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Forced Sterilisation Slovakia
May 2003
Slovakia’s Roma population has always had a difficult life. Regarded as culturally inferior, they are discriminated against at all levels. Now evidence suggests they are being sterilised against their will. Ingrid Ginova was just 16 when doctors sterilised her without her knowledge. When she publicised her plight, police threatened to imprison her. Her story gives added weight to a new report stating that Romany women have been sterilised for decades without their consent.
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SLOVAKIA THE STERILIZATION OF ROMA WOMEN Part 1 (year 2003 document)
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Czech Roma still seeking justice for forced sterilizations
Uploaded by RussiaToday on Jan 8, 2010
A campaign is gathering steam in the Czech Republic for Roma women persecuted under the country’s former communist regime, as an investigation has confirmed they were subjected to systematic sterilization.
Slovakia proposes radical Roma ‘solution’
Some 10 per cent of Slovakia’s population are of Roma ethnicity – most are illiterate and live in poverty in the far east of the country.
To combat the problem, the country’s government has suggested a radical proposal – that Roma children be sent to boarding schools in an attempt to integrate them into Slovak society.
The plan has already been condemned as illegal by human rights groups and the European union. Yet many in Slovakia see it as an essential measure to improve Roma standards of life.
Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from Rankovce.
Forced Sterilization of Romani women in Slovakia
From the Center for Reproductive Rights:
Romani women in Slovakia continue to be subject to grave violations of their human rights, particularly their reproductive rights, even though a communist-era law offering monetary incentives for sterilization has been rescinded. A three-month fact-finding in late 2002 by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Poradna pre obcianske a ludské práva (Centre for Civil and Human Rights), a Slovak human rights organization, reveals that not only do coerced and forced sterilization practices continue in Slovakia, so too does the widespread abuse and discrimination against Romani women in the country’s maternal health services. We conducted extensive interviews with more than 230 women in almost 40 Romani settlements throughout eastern Slovakia, the region with the highest concentration of Roma.
The interviews revealed numerous instances of coerced, forced and suspected sterilization of Romani women, along with physical and verbal abuse, racially discriminatory standards of care, misinformation in health matters, and denial of access to medical records.
Download the full report on the Slovak government’s response to reproductive rights violations against Romani women here in pdf
Forced sterilization of Romani women in Slovakia
Today I saw a TV magazine report on how the practice of forced sterilization of Romani women continues in Slovakia to the present day. I’m not sure if it was a syndicated report from something like AP, or whether the Estonian TV crew had actually been on the ground to shoot it locally. Probably it was the former.
Romani women are sterilized without their knowledge or consent in Slovak hospitals. When they go to have a baby, they are told that they need a C-section. They are then sedated and their baby is born, but they are also sterilized in the process. Sometimes they are made to sign papers which say they consent to this, but they don’t really understand what they’re signing.
The most disturbing part was the interviews with Slovak nurses and doctors. They made racist and derogatory generalizations about the Roma like “they all steal, are dirty and practice incest for generations so this is why they are underdeveloped now”. I’ve studied a bit of Nazi history. It sounded exactly like the Nazi officials talking about the Jews. So effectively the Slovak medical system is practicing their own version of Roma genocide.
I found it quite disturbing that something like this is happening in the European Union to the present day and while the EU declares itself to be a community of values and human rights, it doesn’t really do much to stop this practice. I can understand that something like this may happen in a remote third world location, but within the EU itself it’s just incomprehensible.
http://jaanus.com/post/1451074707/forced-sterilization-of-romani
Slovakia Called on the Carpet over Forced S
08.29.08 –
Slovakia must take urgent action to prevent Roma women from being sterilized without prior and informed consent. This was a key concluding observation from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which reviewed Slovakia on July 2. The Committee called on the government of Slovakia to better monitor public and private health facilities that perform sterilization procedures, ensure that all relevant healthcare providers are aware of and respect women’s reproductive rights, and ensure that Roma women who are victims of forced sterilization have recourse to justice
The Committee also expressed concern about women’s access to reproductive healthcare being limited by health professionals claiming conscientious objection. It urged the government to regulate the use of conscientious objection and ensure women are referred to alternative healthcare providers. These recommendations reflect a recent opinion issued by the European Union Network of Experts on Fundamental Rights, which relied heavily on the Center’s work when addressing the issue of ensuring access to reproductive healthcare.
Sterilization and Conscientious Objection
http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/slovakia-called-on-the-carpet-over-forced-sterilization-and-conscientious-objection
Slovakia Sterilization Practices Criticized
• 27.4 (Winter 2003) Indigenous Education and the Prospects for Cultural Survival
• Dan Brame
The history of ethnic discrimination against the Roma minority in Europe has taken many forms. Some, like the Nazi efforts to exterminate large segments of the Roma population during the Holocaust, have been brutal, calculated, and quite direct. Other manifestations of racial prejudice, from the segregation of Roma communities in sub-standard urban ghettos in Italy and Greece to the British government’s consistent reluctance to accept Roma refugee claims, are more subtle, yet still troubling. In the British case, many of the applicants for refugee status have been from Slovakia, which will be a European Union member in less than one year. While prejudice against the Roma and a desire to protect a fellow European Union member may motivate the British actions, it helps to mask Slovakia’s poor human rights record regarding its treatment of the Roma people within its borders.
In the 10 years since Slovakia became a separate, independent nation, the government has faced severe criticism that it has not done enough to prevent discrimination against the Roma. The charges have ranged from a failure to adequately investigate claims of police brutality against Roma citizens to an absence of any form of hate crimes legislation to protect Slovakia’s minorities, including Roma, Jews, Hungarians, and Germans. While Slovakia’s 2001 census only shows a population of 90,000 Roma, it is widely believed that the true number is closer to 500,000 (approximately nine percent of Slovakia’s population). The reason for this discrepancy is likely that many Roma are afraid of the racial prejudice attached to that label in Slovakia. But a much more sinister form of discrimination in Slovakia indicates the strong possibility of a widespread effort to control Roma population numbers. Recent reports of systematic efforts in Slovakian hospitals and clinics, particularly in the eastern provinces, to force or coerce Roma women into sterilization procedures have become a serious human rights concern. These procedures, if they are as prevalent as many human rights observers believe, could well represent a quiet genocide against Slovakia’s Roma minority.
In January 2003 American and Slovakian human and reproductive rights advocates released a report titled Body and Soul: Forced Sterilization and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive Freedom in Slovakia. This report focused on 40 Roma communities in eastern Slovakia, including interviews with more than 200 Roma women. The authors concluded that there was strong evidence that at least 110 of those women had been coerced or forced into undergoing sterilization procedures, usually when in the hospital to give birth. The Slovakian medical professionals employed several different strategies in order to complete these sterilization procedures, some of which were ostensibly consensual. In at least six cases, doctors targeted young Roma women who were not of legal age to consent to such a procedure without the approval of their parents.
Doctors and nurses also often asked Roma women to sign consent forms while they were under the influence of sedatives during labor. In one of the most egregious cases, Agata, a Roma woman from the town of Svinia, claimed that she was given anesthesia before a Caesarian section procedure. While she was falling asleep, a nurse entered the room, put a pen in her hand, and helped her sign the consent form. When she woke up, she was told that she would no longer be able to have children. Agata is illiterate and could not have understood the form that she was signing even if she had not been under the influence of sedatives.
Agata’s story indicates a third tactic that hospital authorities often use in many of these cases—taking advantage of the rampant illiteracy in Roma communities to convince women to sign documents that, in many cases, they cannot fully comprehend. The fourth method, which has been used in several documented cases, is one that may in some cases be legitimate, but given the history of anti-Roma sentiment in Slovakia, could well be a form of false benevolence. In at least seven instances, Roma women were informed that if they did not undergo sterilization, their next pregnancy would, in all likelihood, cause either their own death or that of their newborn. Although one can argue that these procedures may be valid in cases where the life of the mother and child are in danger, further reports regarding the general treatment of Roma patients in hospitals and maternity wards in eastern Slovakia tend to give credence to the idea that these procedures are conducted under malicious pretenses.
One of the hospitals that received some of the strongest criticism in the report was the Krompachy Hospital. Alexandra, a Roma patient from Richnava, stated that the Roma were actively segregated from Slovakians in Krompachy; they were forced to use separate rooms, showers, and bathrooms (quite often of a lesser quality); and they were denied access to dining facilities. Krompachy became the target of the Slovakian government probe into the allegations. But because 10 hospitals were included in the study and the government has only focused on the Krompachy facility, it is unlikely that this probe will effectively curtail racial discrimination in medical treatment and forced sterilizations. Furthermore, the government inquiry is only studying cases from 1999 to 2002; many allegations were made well before that time period.
Indeed, there is an acknowledged history of coerced sterilizations of Roma women in Slovakia dating back to the years of Communist leadership, prior to 1989. The common practice then was for the local Communist authorities, in collusion with local doctors and nurses, to offer bribes to Roma women who underwent the sterilization procedure. Yet given the limited scope of the current Slovakian government’s study into the matter, both in time period and number of facilities, it will be impossible to determine the true extent of the problem, and therefore to be able to combat it effectively. This circumstance raises serious questions about whether Slovakia is more interested in saving face by simply appearing to address the problem as it prepares to enter the European Union in May 2004, or whether it actually wants to attack these claims of human rights abuses. Slovakia risks the potentially valid accusation that it tacitly supports these efforts to forcibly limit the Roma population. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, in a recent report on the subject, concluded that many Roma women likely did not give informed consent to these procedures. The report urged Slovakia to perform a more thorough investigation into the matter. While the combined pressure of international non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations is welcome and may well reduce future discrimination against the Roma, Slovakians themselves, at the national, regional, and local levels, must be the ones who make the firm commitment to eradicate the practice of coerced sterilization of Roma women and the racial prejudice that makes it possible. Because these events have occurred at the local level and outside the national center, it will be difficult, even with concerned international and local human rights groups now taking notice, to eliminate this discrimination entirely unless there is a fundamental change in attitude among the Slovakian medical community and the population as a whole.
Dan Brame received a bachelor’s degree in international relations and religion from Syracuse University and is now pursuing a master’s degree in international development at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. In spring 2004 he will continue his research on the Roma population of eastern Europe with fieldwork in Skopje, Macedonia.
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/slovakia/slovakia-sterilization-practices-criticized
Court hears claim of forced Roma sterilization
AP – Slovakian lawyer Valery Durbakova prepares to speak Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at the European Court of …
– Tue Mar 22, 1:40 pm ET
PARIS – Europe’s human rights court opened a hearing Tuesday into a Gypsy woman’s allegation that she was wrongly and forcibly sterilized at a state-run hospital in her native Slovakia because of her ethnicity.
The case at the European Court of Human Rights centers on allegations that a semiofficial policy of forced sterilization of Gypsies — who prefer to be called Roma — in eastern Europe during the Communist era lingered in some areas after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Other similar cases are pending before the European Court, but this is the first to advance to the hearing stage, said Tracey Turner-Tretz, a court spokeswoman.
The complaint brought by the woman against Slovakia’s government centers on the claim that she was sterilized through tubal ligation after giving birth in 2000 to her second child by Caesarian section. She was identified only as “V.C.” and said to be about 30 years old.
The woman alleges that in the final stages of labor, she was told by staffers at the Presov hospital in eastern Slovakia if she wanted to have more children, either she or the baby would die, the court said in a statement Tuesday. Scared, in pain and confused about the meaning of sterilization, she signed a consent form for the procedure, the court said.
“She also claims that her Roma ethnicity — clearly stated in her medical record — played a decisive role in her sterilization,” the statement said, just as the closed-door hearing got under way.
“In particular,” the statement went on, “she was placed in the so-called ‘Gypsy room’ and was not allowed to use the same bathrooms and toilets as non-Roma women.”
Hospital managers countered that the sterilization was conducted on medical grounds — amid the risk of a uterus rupture — and denied her claim that she was segregated away from non-Roma patients, the statement said. National courts and investigators in Slovakia did not turn up any wrongdoing by hospital personnel.
A spokesman for the Slovak justice ministry didn’t immediately respond to questions.
The woman “continues to suffer” today because of the operation, with feelings of ostracism from the Roma community, the statement said, and her husband has repeatedly left her because of her infertility.
The hearing in the seven-judge chamber concluded Tuesday, and a verdict is not expected for several weeks. Either side could appeal the ruling — possibly sending the case up to the court’s Grand Chamber.
The head of a U.S. human rights watchdog called on Slovakia’s government “to finally acknowledge cleraly and unequivocally that Romani women in Slovakia were, at once time, targeted for sterilization.”
U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith, the chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, said that “as a matter of justice for the victims and truth about the past due to all the people of Slovakia this practice should be condemned as a grave human rights violation.”
The Communist governments in Hungary and Czechoslovakia applied a semiofficial policy of forced sterilization to limit the population of Gypsies, whose large families were seen as a burden on the state. The practice ended only in recent years, long after the fall of those regimes.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110322/ap_on_he_me/eu_france_roma_sterilizations
PROMINENT SCIENTIST WARNS OF HPV VACCINE DANGERS
Posted By Dr. Mercola | October 25 2008 | 132,192 views
INDEPENDENT HEALTH RESEARCHER GRACE FILBY, WHO WON A CHURCHILL FELLOWSHIP FOR HER RESEARCH INTO PHAGE THERAPY, IS CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT FOR MORE RESEARCH INTO THE POSSIBLE SIDE-EFFECTS OF THE HPV VACCINE THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING GIVEN TO TEENAGE GIRLS.
FILBY BELIEVES THAT NOT ENOUGH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE ON CHILDREN WITH PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEMS. SHE SAYS, “WE SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THE VACCINE INTERACTS WITH OTHER MEDICATION OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, AND THE MANUFACTURERS HAVE NOT STUDIED IT YET. THIS COULD BE A VERY VALID REASON WHY SOME FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS MIGHT HESITATE OR OPT OUT.”
SHE HAS THIS WEEK WRITTEN TO UK EDUCATION MINISTERS AND HEALTH OFFICIALS CALLING FOR URGENT SMALL-SCALE INDEPENDENT STUDIES THAT WOULD HIGHLIGHT ANY HEALTH PROBLEMS STEMMING FROM VACCINATIONS ALREADY CARRIED OUT.
According to the CDC, the human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America. More than 6 million women contract it annually, yet cervical cancer claims less than 3,900 women – most of which are due to not getting regular Pap smears. In the U.K., cervical cancer claims a mere 400 lives per year.
Why is your risk of dying from cervical cancer so low?
Because your immune system is usually strong enough to clear up this kind of infection on its own, and does so in more than 90 percent of all cases. The CDC even admits to this fact on their website.
And, as long as you’re getting regular PAP smears, cervical cancer can be caught in its early, and easily treatable, stages.
So, the question begs to be asked: WHY is the HPV vaccine being pushed so vigorously when:
1. it prevents a type of cancer that is very rare to begin with
2. it protects against a virus that, 98 percent of the time, is not the cause of cervical cancer
3. it prevents a type of cancer that can be easily caught and treated by promoting regular gynecological exams
4. it offers less protection than what promotion of safe sex practices could accomplish
5. it is promoted to girls years before becoming sexually active, even though the vaccine may only offer about three years worth of protection
6. it prevents just 4 out of more than 100 strains of HPV; all of which your body can clear up on its own in 90 percent of all cases anyway
7. it has NOT been proven safe. No one knows if it can cause cancer or infertility, for example
And why would the feds go so far as to add Gardasil to the list of vaccinations that all female immigrants ages 11 to 26 MUST get before they can obtain a green card? We’re not dealing with potential import of bubonic plague here…
According to a New England Journal of Medicine study, the use of condoms reduces the incidence of HPV by 70 percent, offering FAR better protection than Gardasil, for example.
The HPV vaccine is a total head-scratcher of a mystery as far as what its ultimate purpose is, because “curing the rampant health disaster of cervical cancer” is certainly NOT it.
And since when do we have to be vaccinated against cancer in order to be let into a country?
Does the HPV Vaccine LITERALLY Mean “One Less”?
Marketing geniuses are known to play on words and create slogans with quirky double meanings, and if you’ve been tracking the concerns raised about the potential hazards of Gardasil and Cervarix, the potential for these HPV vaccines to cause infertility – whether purposely or inadvertently – is being heard with ever increasing frequency.
The federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) has received over 9,000 reports of problems since the vaccine’s introduction in 2006, which include at least 28 spontaneous abortions, and 27 deaths.
Is it possible that Gardasil’s cry to fame, ‘One Less’, is turning out to be nothing but a sick, ironic play on words?
Anti-Fertility Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its subsidiaries have been actively researching and funding the development of contraceptive / anti-fertility vaccines that prevent full-term pregnancies to take place, for over 20 years. There’s even a Task Force on Birth Control Vaccines of the WHO!
However, no anti-fertility vaccine has ever been placed on the market and promoted as such as of yet.
Instead, as described in a 1993 journal paper published in The British Medical Bulletin, anti-fertility vaccines were being engineered “incorporating tetanus or diphtheria toxoid linked to a variety of hCG-based peptides.”
The authors of this article state,
“The fundamental principle behind this approach to contraceptive vaccine development is to prevent the maternal recognition of pregnancy by inducing a state of immunity against hGC, the hormone that signals the presence of the embryo to the maternal endocrine system.”
Free tetanus vaccines that were offered to young women of childbearing age for years in countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Mexico, and the Philippines, were found to contain human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), which causes spontaneous abortions if the woman becomes pregnant.
While the woman is not technically sterilized, once injected with hCG, she may never be able to carry a child full term thereafter.
HCG-containing anti-fertility vaccines have also been pursued for more than two decades by the Indian National Institute of Immunology, and The Population Council of the Rockefeller University, among others.
In fact, there are no less than 50 research papers detailing research on “contraceptive vaccines” in the PubMed database.
One disturbing paper published in the FASEB Journal in 1993 states:
“… we initiated studies relating to possible mechanisms of action and potential side effects of this vaccine, which should be relevant to world-wide regulation of population growth.”
So again, why the frantic push for the HPV vaccine, created for young, fertile women, when there’s NO solid, rational basis for its use?
Massive Brazilian Vaccination Program Raises Suspicions of Covert Sterilization Plans
A much more recent case of illogical mass vaccinations against a minor health problem is that of the massive, mandatory vaccination program in Brazil, which has raised suspicions among international pro-life activists, who note that the program is similar to other vaccination programs in recent years that have included a hidden sterilizing agent in the vaccines.
The campaign to “annihilate rubella” began in early August this year, mandating rubella vaccinations for all women ages 12 to 49, and 12 to 39 for men; a total of 70 million people, despite the fact that only 17 Brazilian children per year suffer birth defects from the disease.
Adolfo Castañeda of Human Life International notes that just two years ago, researchers found that the rubella vaccine used in a similar campaign in Argentina was laced with human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG).
“The suspicion that brought about the investigation [into the rubella vaccine] was caused by the fact that there were very few cases of the disease in Argentina, which didn’t merit a large-scale campaign,” Castañeda said, adding, “The ages for women are the same as those who received the vaccines in Nicaragua, where they included a hormone that sterilizes the woman who receives it, and similar to the age of those who received another sterilizing hormone in the Philippines.”
Polysorbate-80 – One Less Mouse, Researchers Found
Now, let me state clearly that there’s no proof of hCG being present in any of the current HPV vaccines.
I am merely playing devil’s advocate as I examine the similarities between these other irrational vaccination programs in other countries for relatively minor public health concerns — that turn out to have far more sinister agendas than mere greed – compared to the fervent, irrational push behind the HPV vaccine here in the U.S.
However, Gardasil does contain Polysorbate-80 – a surfactant used in pharmacology to deliver certain drugs or chemical agents across the blood-brain barrier — which has been linked to infertility in mice.
Researchers Gajdova et.al. found that administration of Polysorbate-80 decreased the weight of the uterus and ovaries, and caused chronic estrogenic stimulation. The ovaries of the mice were also without corpora lutea (a mass of progesterone-secreting endocrine tissue that forms immediately after ovulation) and had degenerative follicles.
So what might the estrogenic effects of Polysorbate-80 be on pre-adolescent girls and pregnant women?
Anti-Fertility Vaccine Ingredient Also Has Clinical Application in Cancer Vaccines…
A potential coincidence I find most disturbing is some of the more recent research detailing the use of hCG, and other molecules, in vaccines against hCG-producing cancers, such as – certain cervical cancers.
One 2005 paper titled, Recent advances in contraceptive vaccine development: a mini-review published in the journal Human Reproduction concludes:
“At the present time, studies are focused on increasing the immunogenicity and efficacy of the birth control vaccine, and examining its clinical applications in various HCG-producing cancers.”
But research published just a few months ago in the journal Molecular Cancer states that the free β-subunit of hCG (hCGβ) – which was originally considered biologically non-functional — has recently been shown to stimulate tumor growth, and lead to more aggressive tumors that are more resistant to therapy.
Again, I’m mentioning all of this because it just goes to show that pharmaceutical companies have little or no clue of the extent of harm these vaccines might cause, especially long-term. Something believed to be completely non-functional or harmless can turn out to be a MAJOR cause for concern after more thorough investigation.
For example, Gardasil also contains L-histadine, and histamines have been found to increase clot production five-fold when combined with, guess what? Surfactants! (L-histidine can also pass through your placental wall to your fetus.)
Granted, this laboratory investigative report titled Surfactants Attenuate Gas Embolism-induced Thrombin Production used surfactants like Perftoran, not Polysorbate-80, in their trials, but could Polysorbate-80 have a similar effect?
Could this explain why death from blood clots within hours or days is the MOST COMMON form of death after receiving Gardasil?
The HPV vaccine clearly has a lot of questions left to be answered. And those questions should be answered BEFORE pushing Gardasil on an unsuspecting public at the rate that it’s being done.
Will You Be One More or One Less to Get Gardasil
You can radically reduce your risk of getting HPV in the first place if you follow safe-sex practices, or wait to have sex until you’re in a committed relationship. Then, keep your immune system in tip-top shape, and it will be more than able to shake any HPV virus that comes its way.
HTTP://ARTICLES.MERCOLA.COM/SITES/ARTICLES/ARCHIVE/2008/10/25/PROMINENT-SCIENTIST-WARNS-OF-HPV-VACCINE-DANGERS.ASPX
THE HPV VACCINE: PREVENTIVE CARE OR HUMAN SACRIFICE?
Posted By Dr. Mercola | May 10 2008 | 88,022 views
Reports of adverse reactions to the new HPV vaccine Gardasil are escalating. One particularly heart-wrenching example is the story of 12-year-old Brittany who lost all feeling in her leg and collapsed two weeks after receiving the Gardasil vaccine.
Adding insult to injury, people who are injured by the vaccine cannot even sue Merck, the maker of the Gardasil vaccine, because it is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund.
While the FDA claims adverse reactions to Gardasil are rare, a review of the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) data shows that several thousands of adverse reactions have been reported in the United States alone. And hundreds of Australian girls have experienced side effects like paralysis, dizzy spells and seizures, but Australia‘s Department of Health and Ageing refuses to release any details.
Further, The European Medicines Agency reported that two women died not long after they received the vaccine, one in Austria and one in Germany. The Financial Times also reported that there have been 11 deaths and a wide array of other adverse reactions, including:
• Bells Palsy
• Guillan-Barre syndrome
• Seizures
• Blood clotting and heart problems
• Miscarriages and fetal abnormalities amongst pregnant women who received the vaccine
Thanks to Merck’s aggressive advertising campaign for Gardasil — the one that features young girls chanting “I want to be one less” — mothers and daughters across the United States are lining up to be vaccinated.
Yet, once you know the facts about this vaccine and HPV, the virus it supposedly prevents, it becomes very clear just how useless — and dangerous — this vaccine really is.
Getting the Facts About HPV
There are more than 100 types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). Of them, only 10-30 can cause cervical cancer. The rest can lead to skin infections that cause genital warts or common warts on your hands and feet.
These are very common viruses, and an estimated 25 million Americans have HPV infections. However, this is NOT cause for alarm because, as even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: “In 90% of cases, your body’s immune system clears the HPV infection naturally within two years.”
This is true whether the infection is the type that can cause warts or cancer.
Meanwhile, Merck’s Gardasil vaccine contains just four types of HPV. If you contract one of the 96+ types that aren’t included, you’re out of luck. And, if you’ve already been exposed to one of the four types of virus in the vaccine, it doesn’t work against those either.
Some Scary Facts About Gardasil
The long-term effects of using this vaccine on young girls is unknown, and in the short-term, many girls have already begun to suffer. Common side effects include:
• Pain, swelling, itching and redness at the injection site
• Fever
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Fainting
Severe allergic reactions, including difficulty breathing, have also been reported, as has:
• Swollen glands
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Headaches
• Joint pain
• Aching muscles
• Unusual tiredness and weakness
As of last October, 3,461 complaints about Gardasil had been filed with the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, and 11 women died after exposure to the vaccine.
Meanwhile, aside from being injected with four types of HPV proteins, girls and women who receive this vaccine should know what else is in the shot:
1. Aluminum adjuvants, which have been linked to neurological damage including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
2. Polysorbate 80, which has been linked to infertility in mice.
3. Sodium borate, a main ingredient in roach killer.
BE “ONE LESS” TO GET GARDASIL
I THINK THIS WOULD BE A MORE APPROPRIATE MESSAGE TO SEND OUT TO YOUNG WOMEN. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO RISK THE SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS VACCINE TO PREVENT AN INFECTION THAT GOES AWAY ON ITS OWN 90 PERCENT OF THE TIME. AND THERE’S NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU’LL BE PROTECTED ANYWAY, SINCE YOU CAN STILL GET HPV ONCE YOU’VE HAD THE VACCINE. IT’S REALLY A NO-WIN SITUATION FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVE IT.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN RADICALLY REDUCE YOUR RISK OF GETTING HPV IN THE FIRST PLACE IF YOU FOLLOW SAFE-SEX PRACTICES, OR WAIT TO HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU’RE IN A COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP. THEN, KEEP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IN TIP-TOP SHAPE, AND IT WILL BE MORE THAN ABLE TO SHAKE ANY HPV VIRUS THAT COMES ITS WA
HTTP://ARTICLES.MERCOLA.COM/SITES/ARTICLES/ARCHIVE/2008/05/10/THE-HPV-VACCINE-PREVENTIVE-CARE-OR-HUMAN-SACRIFICE.ASPX
THE HPV VACCINE: HERD IMMUNITY OR HUMAN SACRIFICE?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 by: Joanne Waldron
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(NaturalNews) Reports of adverse reactions to the new HPV vaccine are escalating. One particularly heart-wrenching example is the story of an active 12-year-old little girl named Brittany who recently lost all feeling in her leg and collapsed two weeks after receiving the Gardasil vaccine. Although she once had dreams of earning an athletic scholarship, she now struggles to hobble around each day with the aid of braces and a walker, First Coast News reports. According to the article, she has been diagnosed with Acute Demyelinating Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a condition characterized by inflammation of the brain and associated with the vaccination (http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/…) .
Like many other parents, this girl’s mother had no idea that this kind of reaction to the vaccine was possible and never would’ve allowed her daughter to receive it had she been made aware of this. To add insult to injury, people who are injured by the vaccine cannot even sue Merck, the maker of the Gardasil vaccine, because the vaccine is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund. Unfortunately, the only recourse for those injured by this vaccine is to file a claim with the government. Translation: compensation of the victims becomes the responsibility of taxpayers.
While the FDA may claim that adverse reactions to this vaccine are rare, a review of the U.S.’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) data shows that thousands and thousands of adverse reactions have been reported in the United States alone (http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/fi…) . Girls from other countries have been injured by this vaccine, as well. Hundreds of Australian girls have experienced side effects like paralysis, dizzy spells and seizures, but Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing won’t release any of the details (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,2359…) . According to LifeSiteNews, The European Medicines Agency reports that there were two more women who died not long after they received the vaccine, one in Austria and one in Germany (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/200…) . The Financial Times reports that there have been eleven deaths and a wide array of other adverse reactions, including Bells Palsy, Guillan-Barre syndrome, seizures, blood clotting, heart problems, and even miscarriages and fetal abnormalities amongst pregnant women who received the vaccine (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/728046c4-…) .
Many doctors are not recommending this vaccine, because in addition to the serious adverse reactions and deaths that have been reported, they have concerns about the vaccine’s long-term safety and efficacy. In her well-written book called The Parents’ Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations, Dr. Lauren Feder notes that the pain that many girls experience after the shot is probably due to the aluminum adjuvants in the vaccine. She also cautions that the vaccine contains polysorbate 80, a substance linked to infertility in mice. After some deliberation, it was her opinion that the vaccine had more risks than benefits.
One vaccine researcher, Diane M. Harper, a physician and someone who has spent twenty years on the development of the HPV vaccine, has publicly stated through a KPC News report that giving this vaccine to young girls is a “great big public health experiment,” as this vaccine’s safety and efficacy for young girls is unknown (http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/200…) . She notes that HPV is a skin infection and can be spread in ways other than sex, and it’s quite possible that tiny girls have already been exposed to the strains of HPV covered by the vaccine which would render the vaccine ineffective. She thinks the vaccine should only be offered to women 18 and older, and only if they have first tested negative for the strains of HPV covered by the vaccine. Of course, testing tiny girls with a vaginal swab to see if they’ve already been exposed would be wholly inappropriate. Harper has many other concerns, as outlined in the news report, but she is having trouble getting her views heard through mainstream media. Another concern voiced by Harper and many other doctors is that even if someone gets the HPV vaccine, regular pap smears are still needed, as the vaccine doesn’t protect against all strains of HPV.
The reason many doctors like this vaccine is because HPV can cause cervical cancer. According to the CDC, certain types of HPV can cause genital warts, and certain types of HPV can cause cervical and other cancers (http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-…) . The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are considered low-risk and are not the same as the types that cause cancer. Again, genital warts will not turn into cancer. However, the CDC reports that in 90% of all cases of HPV, including both the wart-causing and the cancer-causing varieties, the body’s immune system will clear the infection naturally within two years. In fact, the CDC maintains that most people who contract HPV will not have any symptoms at all.
But just how common is cervical cancer in the United States? To answer this question, it is useful to look at some statistics that Kaiser has posted on its website concerning the incidence of cervical cancer in the United States (http://www.statehealthfacts.org/com…) . The statistics are available by state and by ethnicity. For example, in the state of Maryland, 9.3 out of every 100,000 women contracted cervical cancer in 2003. Without considering any of the personal risk factors (like cervical cancer in the family), the general risk for someone living in Maryland would be 9.3/100000 or .0093% chance of contracting this disease. It is important to note that many people have pre-cancerous lesions that are treated by their doctors and that data is not reflected here. However, generally speaking, assuming that a woman gets regular pap smears, the risk for developing cervical cancer seems relatively small. Using the state of Maryland as an example again, according to the statistics provided by Kaiser, only 2.5 out of every 100,000 women or .0025% actually died from cervical cancer in the state of Maryland in 2004.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 80% of all cervical cancer deaths happen in developing countries (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news…) . The remaining deaths from cervical cancer are divided amongst all of the other developed nations. However, there is currently a big push in the United States for girls to have this vaccine. According to CorpWatch.org, Merck even lobbied to make the vaccine mandatory (http://www.corpwatch.org/article.ph…) . Given that each course of the vaccine would cost hundreds of dollars, Merck would stand to make billions if this vaccine were required for all young girls. After all of Merck’s problems with its Vioxx drug that was taken off the market, this vaccine would certainly allow Merck to recoup its losses.
For all of these reasons and many more, parents naturally have grave concerns about this vaccine. Even girls who receive the HPV vaccine still need regular pap smears, because 30% of cervical cancers won’t be prevented by this vaccine (and that’s assuming the vaccine works all the time for the other types). Numerous doctors have also pointed out that just because a vaccine may seem to prevent precursor lesions from developing doesn’t mean it will prevent cervical cancer –- this, along with many other long-term variables concerning the vaccine, won’t be known for many years.
Given all of the adverse reactions associated with this vaccine and even the possibility of death, one has to question if young girls should be given a vaccine whose long-term effects are unknown in a country where women have good access to medical care and are able to get regular pap smears. This whole vaccine mentality is eerily reminiscent of the story told in Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” which recounts the tale of a young maiden being sacrificed in pagan Russia as an offering to the gods in order to have abundant crops. Is the suffering and possible death of some girls for the purpose of “herd immunity” really worth it? Go ask Brittany.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanne Waldron is a computer scientist with a passion for writing and sharing health-related news and information with others. She hosts the Naked Wellness: The Gentle Health Revolution forum, which is devoted to achieving radiant health, well-being, and longevity.
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CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE WINS FEDERAL APPROVAL
Thursday, June 08, 2006
WASHINGTON — Women for the first time have a vaccine to protect themselves against cervical cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved use of the vaccine, Gardasil, for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. It works by preventing infection by four strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease.
This cancer kills 3,700 women each year in the United States and hundreds of thousands more worldwide. Acting FDA Administrator Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said the vaccine will have “a dramatic effect” on the health of women around the world.
• Related Story: 12 Things You Should Know About the Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Co. Inc., protects against the two types of HPV responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine also blocks infection by two other strains responsible for 90 percent of genital wart cases. It will be available by the end of June.
Clinical trials showed Gardasil prevented 100 percent of cervical cancer related to the two HPV strains in women who had not been previously infected, Merck said. It also prevented 99 percent of the cases of genital warts caused by the two other strains.
“Fortunately, we can now include the worst types of HPV and most cervical cancer in the list of diseases that no one need suffer or die from ever again,” said Alex Azar, deputy Health and Human Services secretary.
The FDA also said the vaccine appeared very safe. However, it’s not known how long its protection will last or if women will have to receive booster shots later in life. Merck has agreed to monitor its long-term effectiveness.
Merck is expected to market Gardasil as a cancer vaccine, rather than an STD vaccine. It remains unclear how widespread the use of the three-shot series will be, in part because of its $360 list price. Conservative opposition to making the vaccine mandatory for school attendance may also curb its adoption.
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• Cervical Cancer Not Fatal With Treatment, Yet Kills Thousands of Poor Women
The target age for receiving Gardasil is low because the vaccine works best when given to girls before they begin having sex and run the risk of HPV infection. The vaccine does not protect people already infected and may increase their risk of the kind of lesions that can lead to cervical cancer, the FDA has said. However, a final FDA analysis does not substantiate such a risk, said Dr. Jesse Goodman, director of the agency’s Center for Biologics and Evaluation and Research.
The national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide June 29 whether to endorse routine vaccination with Gardasil. That endorsement is critical if a vaccine is to become a standard of care.
It then will be up to individual states to decide whether to add the vaccine to the list of others required before students may attend public schools.
Conservative groups like Focus on the Family support availability of the vaccine, but oppose making it mandatory, saying the decision to vaccinate should rest with a child’s parents or guardians. It promotes abstinence as the best way of warding off infection by HPV and other STDs.
HPV affects more than 50 percent of sexually active adults at some point in their lives. The cervical cancer it can cause kills about 290,000 women worldwide each year, including 3,700 in the United States. In the U.S., regular Pap smears often detect precancerous lesions and early cancer. The vaccine does not eliminate the need for regular screening.
Analysts believe Gardasil sales could top $1 billion a year for Merck, which is battling thousands of lawsuits over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. The Whitehouse Station, N.J. company is seeking to license Gardasil in more than 50 countries.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC is also developing an HPV vaccine.
Richard Clark, Merck’s chief executive officer and president, called the vaccine a “lifesaving scientific advance.”
The cost of Gardasil and the difficulty of getting young girls in to see a doctor three times in six months to receive the vaccine could pose problems, said Cynthia Dailard, senior public policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, which focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Ensuring its availability to poor and minority girls and women — and others less likely to receive regular Pap exams — also will be difficult. Merck plans to provide Gardasil for free to the poor and uninsured.
“This is an incredibly exciting breakthrough, but at the same time, it presents some major challenges, some the likes of which we have never confronted before,” Dailard said.
Inda Blatch-Geib, an Akron, Ohio mother of four, said she’d consider vaccinating her daughters, ages 9 and 16. Blatch-Geib, 41, said doing so wouldn’t be tantamount to giving her girls a green light to have sex.
“Giving the vaccine goes with a conversation. We are pretty open with our children, so it wouldn’t be an issue. It would lead to conversations,” Blatch-Geib said.
The only other vaccine effective in preventing cancer is against hepatitis B, which can cause liver cancer.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198741,00.html#ixzz1UVUdV1lo
COMMENT: The following article is the propaganda and politically correct version concerning HPV and the vaccines. PLACED HERE FOR COMPARSION.
12 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
Thursday, June 08, 2006
By Miranda Hitti
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The FDA has approved Gardasil, a vaccine that targets the virus responsible for most cervical cancers and genital warts. Here are 12 questions and answers on the new vaccine.
1. What is Gardasil?
Gardasil is a vaccine that targets four strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Those strains are called HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-16, and HPV-18.
• Related Story: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Wins Federal Approval
HPV-16 and HPV-18 account for about 70% of all cervical cancers. Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which connects the vagina to the uterus.
HPV-6 and HPV-11 account for about 90% of genital warts.
The vaccine is also approved to help prevent vaginal and vulvar cancers, which can also be caused by HPV.
2. How does HPV spread?
HPV is spread through sex. HPV infection is common. About 20 million people in the U.S. are infected with HPV, and by age 50, at least 80% of women will have had an HPV infection, according to the CDC.
Most women with HPV infection don’t develop cervical cancer.
3. Does Gardasil protect against all cervical cancers?
No. Though the vaccine protects against leading causes of cervical cancer, it doesn’t ward off other causes of cervical cancer.
4. How effective is Gardasil?
Studies have shown 100% effectiveness in protecting against infection with HPV-16 and HPV-18 strains in people who had not been previously exposed to the virus.
5. How long does Gardasil last?
Tests show that the vaccine lasts at least four years. Long-term results aren’t known yet.
6. Does the vaccine contain a live virus?
No. Gardasil contains a virus-like particle, but not the virus itself.
7. Who should get the vaccine?
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• Cervical Cancer Not Fatal With Treatment, Yet Kills Thousands of Poor Women
The FDA approved Gardasil for girls and women aged 9-26. The FDA’s decision doesn’t automatically make the vaccine part of the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule. The company that makes Gardasil is continuing to research use of the vaccine in boys and men, as they can also become infected with HPV, which could lead to genital warts.
8. Is Gardasil safe?
Reports from clinical trials, to date, show Gardasil to be safe.
9. Will Gardasil protect women from cervical cancer who’ve already been exposed to HPV?
Gardasil is not designed to protect people who’ve already been exposed to HPV.
10. Will the new vaccine eliminate the need for cervical cancer screening?
No. Gardasil doesn’t protect against all causes of cervical cancer, so screening (such as the Pap test) will still be needed. Screening is essential to detect cancer and precancerous lesions caused by other HPV types. Screening will also continue to be necessary for women who have not been vaccinated or are already infected with HPV.
11. Are there other cervical cancer vaccines?
Gardasil is the first cervical cancer vaccine to be approved. In fact, it’s the first vaccine to protect against a risk factor for a cancer. Another cervical cancer vaccine, called Cervarix, is also in the works. It’s expected to be submitted for approval by the end of 2006.
12. How many people get cervical cancer and die from the disease?
About 9,710 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2006, predicts the American Cancer Society.
About 3,700 U.S. women will die of cervical cancer in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society.
Worldwide, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths for women. According to the FDA there are 470,000 new cases and 233,000 deaths each year.
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
SOURCES: WebMD Medical News: “Cervical Cancer Vaccine Approved.” WebMD Medical Reference: “Understanding Cervical Cancer: The Basics.” American Cancer Society: “What Are the Key Statistics About Cervical Cancer?” World Health Organization: “Comprehensive Cancer Control: A Guide to Essential Practice.” CDC: “Cervical Cancer Awareness: Human Papillomavirus (HPV).” News release, Merck. FDA.
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FDA APPROVES CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
Friday, June 09, 2006
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WASHINGTON — The first vaccine against cervical cancer will be available to girls as young as nine later this month. Its manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., is already taking orders for Gardasil. The three-shot series costs $360.
The newly approved vaccine works by preventing infection by four of the dozens of strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease. The Food and Drug Administration licensed it for use in girls and women 9 to 26. It’s still being studied in males.
Gardasil protects against the two types of HPV responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine also blocks infection by two other strains responsible for 90 percent of genital wart cases.
“FDA approval of the HPV vaccine, the first vaccine targeted specifically to preventing cancer, is one of the most important advances in women’s health in recent years,” said Dr. Carolyn Runowicz, president of the American Cancer Society.
Related Story: 12 Things You Should Know About the Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Click on the video box in the above right corner of this story to watch Dr. Manny Alvarez’ report on the new cervical cancer vaccine.
Whether Gardasil enters routine use depends on what the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends at a June 29 meeting. The panel’s endorsement is critical.
Clinical trials showed Gardasil prevented 100 percent of cervical cancer related to the two HPV strains in women who had not been previously infected, Merck said. It also prevented 99 percent of the cases of genital warts caused by the two other strains.
“Fortunately, we can now include the worst types of HPV and most cervical cancer in the list of diseases that no one need suffer or die from ever again,” said Alex Azar, deputy Health and Human Services secretary.
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• Cervical Cancer Vaccine Safe, Headed for FDA Approval
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Merck wants to sell the vaccine around the world. Each year, cervical cancer kills an estimated 240,000 women worldwide, including 3,700 in the United States. The incidence of the cancer is lower in the U.S. because Pap tests are so routine.
The vaccine does not eliminate the need for the regular exams, which can detect precancerous lesions and early cancer. Merck has said Gardasil could cut the number of abnormal Pap results due to HPV infection. By age 50, some 80 percent of women have been infected with the virus. In most cases, the body clears the virus.
Research presented earlier suggests a bonus to Gardasil: It also protects against vaginal and vulvar cancers linked to the four types of HPV.
Gardasil works best when given to girls before they begin having sex and run the risk of HPV infection. The vaccine does not protect those already infected.
The FDA said that Gardasil appeared very safe. It remains unclear if its effect is long-lasting or if women will need booster shots later in life. Merck will monitor its long-term effectiveness.
Analysts believe Gardasil sales could top $1 billion a year for Merck. The Whitehouse Station, N.J., company faces thousands of lawsuits over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.
Eventually, it could face competition from GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which is also developing its own HPV vaccine.
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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198888,00.html#ixzz1UVU5K9Ky
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MERCK LOBBIES FOR HPV VACCINE TO BECOME LAW
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas — Merck & Co. is helping bankroll efforts to pass state laws requiring girls as young as 11 or 12 to receive the drugmaker’s new vaccine against the sexually transmitted cervical-cancer virus.
Some conservatives and parents’-rights groups say such a requirement would encourage premarital sex and interfere with the way they raise their children, and they say Merck’s push for such laws is underhanded. But the company said its lobbying efforts have been above-board.
With at least 18 states debating whether to require Merck’s Gardasil vaccine for schoolgirls, Merck has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
“Cervical cancer is of particular interest to our members because it represents the first opportunity that we have to actually eliminate a cancer,” Women in Government President Susan Crosby said.
Gardasil, approved by the federal government in June, protects girls and women against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. A government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
But no state has yet to add Gardasil to the list of vaccinations youngsters must have under law to be enrolled in school.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Crosby also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
But Skidmore said: “We disclosed the fact that we provide funding to this organization. We’re not in any way trying to obscure that.”
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Cathie Adams, president of the conservative watchdog group Texas Eagle Forum, said the relationship between Merck and Women in Government is too cozy.
“What it does is benefit the pharmaceutical companies, and I don’t want pharmaceutical companies taking precedence over the authorities of parents,” she said.
Adams said Merck’s method of lobbying quietly through groups like Women in Government in addition to meeting directly with legislators are common in state government but still should raise eyebrows. “It’s corrupt as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
A mandatory vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease could be a tough sell in the Lone Star State and other conservative strongholds, where schools preach abstinence and parents’ rights are sacrosanct.
But Merck has doubled its spending on lobbyists in Texas this year, to between $150,000 and $250,000, as lawmakers consider the vaccine bill for girls entering the sixth grade.
Also, the drugmaker has hired one of the state’s most powerful lobbyists, Mike Toomey, who once served as Republican Gov. Rick Perry’s chief of staff and can influence conservatives who see him as one of their own.
“What we support are approaches that achieve high immunization rates,” said Skidmore, the Merck spokeswoman. “We’re talking about cervical cancer here, the second-leading cancer among women worldwide.”
The legislation already has the enthusiastic support of the conservative governor.
“I look at this no different than vaccinating our children for polio,” Perry said. “If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals to have those vaccines available.”
Proposals for mandates have popped up from California to Connecticut since the first piece of legislation was introduced in September in Michigan. Michigan’s bill was narrowly defeated last month. Lawmakers said the requirement would intrude on families’ privacy, even though, as in most states’ proposals, parents could opt out.
Even with such opt-out provisions, mandates take away parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children, said Linda Klepacki of the Colorado-based evangelical organization Focus on the Family. The group contends the vaccine should be available for parents who want it, but not forced on those who don’t.
But Texas Rep. Jessica Farrar said her proposal is aimed at protecting children whose parents are less informed about or less interested in preventive care.
“Not everybody has equal sets of parents,” said Farrar, a Houston Democrat who had precancerous cells removed from her cervix several years ago. “I think this is a public health issue and to not want to eradicate cervical cancer is irresponsible.”
Drug-industry analyst Steve Brozak of W.B.B. Securities has projected Gardasil sales of at least $1 billion per year — and billions more if states start requiring the vaccine. “I could not think of a bigger boost,” he said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,248781,00.html#ixzz1UVS3dQ4s
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VIDEO
HTTP://WWW.MSNBC.MSN.COM/ID/16948093/NS/HEALTH-KIDS_AND_PARENTING/T/TEXAS-GOVERNOR-ORDERS-STD-VACCINE-ALL-GIRLS/#.TKDJUOL0SSO
Rick Perry:
As a child, Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, would also later become an Eagle Scout.[9][10] The BSA honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[11]
Intelligent design
During the 2006 gubernatorial election campaign, Perry said he supported teaching intelligent design alongside evolution in Texas schools. A spokeswoman for Perry called intelligent design a “valid scientific theory”, an analysis that political commentator Rick Casey describes as “disputed by the scientific establishment”.[53]
In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. “Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President… I’m not talking about any mayor, I’m talking about America’s Mayor,” Perry said.[96] Some conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new President’s cabinet, or perhaps the Vice Presidency.[97] However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008 after failing to gain support in early primaries.
Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President.[98] Shortly after Mitt Romney’s withdrawal from the race in early February, Perry reportedly
HPV vaccine
On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive HPV vaccine that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a cause of cervical cancer.[54] The order provided vaccination free of charge to those who were not covered by insurance.[55] The order included an opt-out provision for parents. At the time of the order, Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck was the only FDA approved HPV vaccine. The move made national headlines,[56] and apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry were reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution and Merck’s hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work and Perry’s “current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi [as] state director for Women in Government.”[54][57]
Perry’s decision has been criticized by some social conservatives and parents due to concerns about possible moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Perry’s executive order.[58] Perry’s order has also been criticized for the price of the vaccine: approximately $360 in Texas.[55]
On May 9, 2007, Perry allowed a bill to go into law that would undo his executive order.[59]
TEXAS GOVERNOR ORDERS STD VACCINE FOR ALL GIRLS
Decision comes after maker of cervical cancer shot doubled lobbying efforts
updated 2/3/2007 1:00:35 PM ET
AUSTIN, Texas — Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
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Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Perry tied to Merck
Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.
The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.
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Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.
“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”
Opt-out option for parents
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/texas-governor-orders-std-vaccine-all-girls/
DEMOCRATIC AD SLAMS TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY OVER HPV VACCINE
By Mary Dooe
The Democratic Governors Association on Tuesday released a new ad portraying Republican Gov. Rick Perry as a man who tried to force a controversial vaccine on young girls at the behest of pharmaceutical companies.
The commercial, running in the Dallas area, opens with a view of what the narrator identifies as “the arm of an 11 year old girl” being injected with a drug. The ad then displays an image of Perry as the narrator adds, “Now, imagine a governor who wanted to take a needle, fill it with a controversial drug for sexually-transmitted diseases, and inject it in every 11 and 12-year-old girl in Texas.”
The narrator continues, “That’s what Gov. Rick Perry wanted to do. That’s what Gov. Perry and his drug company friends wanted him to do.”
The ad was made by Lone Star First, an organization funded by the DGA, and references Perry’s 2007 executive order that forced the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to create rules for sixth-grade girls in Texas to receive the HPV vaccine. Human papillomavirus is a sexually-transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts.
The issue was controversial for a number of reasons. Critics viewed the mandate as infringing on parental rights, while others claimed it was meant to serve the financial interests of Merck, the pharmaceutical company producing the vaccine. The company donated $5,000 to Perry’s campaign fund in 2006, the Dallas Morning News reported, and paid Perry’s former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, for his work as a lobbyist.
The Perry campaign today dismissed the ad a “desperate attack” from his Democratic opponent, former Houston Mayor Bill White.
“They are pulling out old tricks that haven’t worked before and they aren’t going to work now,” said Alejandro Garcia, a spokesman for Perry’s campaign, told the Hotsheet.
An earlier Lone Star First ad mentioned the HPV vaccine issue, claiming that Perry wanted to inject the drug “without a parent’s consent.” According to PolitiFact Texas (run in conjunction with the Austin American-Statesman) the claims were false, and the mandate was to include an opt-out for parents who did not want their daughters vaccinated.
Earlier this year, Perry defended his decision on the issue back in 2007, citing a pro-life argument.
The plan, set to go into effect for the 2008-2009 school year, was blocked by lawmakers, and according to Garcia, is dead. “It’s not anything that can be revived,” he said.
Perry has served as governor since 2000. CBS News has labeled the governor’s race as “edging Republican”, and Perry leads in recent polls, but the DGA’s investments signal the Democrats see the race as competitive.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20019386-503544.html
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The HPV was licensed in 2006, and since that time over 16 million doses have been distributed across the United States (although, it isn’t known how many of these have yet been administered to patients). There have been about 10,000 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine. 6% of these reports (or 600) were considered serious, either causing an ER visit, a hospitalization, a fatality, or permanent disability. If all 16 million doses were given, that would mean about 1 in every 26,000 patients would have a severe reaction. If 12 million doses, about 1 in every 20,000.
What about the reported fatal reactions? So far there have been about 20 reported fatalities. This obviously has parents very concerned. But the question is, are these fatalities caused by the vaccine? I was able to review the VAERS reports on 17 of these cases. Here is what I found:
• 17 year old girl – sudden death due a suspected heart arrhythmia 2 days after the shot.
• 12 year old girl – a history of seizure disorder and prolonged QT syndrome (a type of heart arrhythmia), on seizure meds. After 2nd dose of the vaccine began having seizures again (hadn’t had any seizures for a couple years). She died 56 days after 2nd dose of the vaccine from a heart arrhythmia and complications of a seizure.
• 17 year old girl with a previously diagnosed seizure disorder died 15 days after the vaccine was given. No other details were provided.
• 15 year old obese girl – 2 days after the vaccine was found to have an enlarged heart and heart failure and died.
• 21 year old girl – 17 days after 2nd dose of the vaccine was found dead in dorm room. She died of unknown causes. There was a trace of alcohol in her bloodstream.
• 14 year old girl – developed a new seizure disorder after 2nd dose of the vaccine. Then, 2 weeks after the 3rd dose she was rushed to ER for unknown reasons. She died in the ambulance.
• 21 year old – developed viral myocarditis (a heart infection) after the 3rd dose of the vaccine and died. Details as to how many days after the vaccine weren’t provided.
• 12 year old – 6 days after a dose of the vaccine died suddenly of myocarditis.
• 19 year old – Sudden death from a pulmonary embolism 14 days after first dose of the vaccine.
• 15 year old – Died of staphylococcus (a bacteria) bloodstream infection and the flu 2 months after the vaccine (not clear how many doses she received).
• 11 year old – 3 days after the 1st dose of the vaccine had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), cardiac arrest and died.
• 22 year old – 2 days after the vaccine suddenly died. No other data were given on this case.
• 17 year old with diabetes – 50 days after 2nd dose of the vaccine, died of complications of diabetes (life-threateningly high sugar and acid levels in the bloodstream).
• 18 year old – 5 months after getting the meningococcal vaccine and HPV vaccine, died of meningitis.
• 12 year old – 21 days after getting the vaccine, died in her sleep. No other details provided.
• 26 year old – between 1 and 21 days after the first dose of the vaccine, developed blood clots in her legs, which traveled to her heart and lungs. She was found dead in her car.
• 20 year old – 4 days after first dose, suddenly died. Autopsy was normal. No drugs were found in her system. Cause of death, unknown.
• I couldn’t find info on 3 of the deaths.
I count about 4 cases in which the death was sudden due to heart problems – arrhythmia, heart inflammation, heart failure, and severe allergic reaction and cardiac arrest. I count one case that was sudden and unexplained with a normal autopsy. There was one case in which a seizure problem may have been caused by the vaccine, then on the third dose a fatal seizure or heart complication was triggered. These six deaths were sudden, without any warning, in seemingly healthy young women, and could have conceivably been triggered by a cardiac or neurologic reaction to the vaccine.
The remaining deaths are less likely to be related to the vaccine. There were two cases with prior seizure problems who suddenly died, seemingly from complications of their seizures. There were two cases of sudden death, but no details are given to know if their deaths were mysterious (and maybe from the vaccine) or some natural explanation. Two developed blood clots that traveled to their heart and lungs, causing sudden death. A few died a long time after the vaccine, so it would be unlikely to be related. These deaths seem to be more related to a pre-existing medical condition or a known sudden condition that is known to happen (like blood clots).
Overall, it does seem like a few of these very tragic deaths could be caused by the vaccine, but certainly not all of them. If you consider that perhaps six of these deaths were due to the vaccine, out of approximately 12 million doses given, that would put the risk at about 1 in every 2 million doses.
Now what about other severe reactions that did NOT result in death, but were nevertheless very serious? I searched VAERS for all reactions that resulted in a hospitalization and were considered life-threatening. I came up with 59 results. Many of them seemed to occur too far away from the shot to have been related, or occurred in women with pre-existing medical problems that were probably responsible for their hospitalization, or were hospitalized for reasons probably unrelated to a vaccine reaction. However, some reactions occurred close to the vaccine and may have been related. 25 reactions occurred within 2 weeks of the vaccine in a perfectly healthy person who had no underlying reasons for suddenly becoming seriously ill. Such reactions included severe neurologic problems (nerve and muscle weakness, partial paralysis, and various nerve dysfunctions), severe bleeding disorders (sudden anemia or bleeding problems), blood clotting problems, sudden onset of diabetes within a few days after the shot, and a few serious allergic reactions.
WHAT SHOULD PARENTS DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?
Such reports of deaths and severe reactions would naturally scare any parent, and these events are very tragic for the families involved. But overall, the risk of a fatal reaction is very, very small. The risk of a severe reaction (not fatal) is also fairly small, but may give parents pause. I think that if a teen is going to be sexually active, the risk of HPV disease is very real, and getting the vaccine is worth the small risk. Any teens who are committed to abstinence may not need to take the small risk of the shot. Any teen who has a seizure disorder (or other neurologic disorder), a problem with blood clotting (or other hematologic disorder), or any heart problems (especially heart arrythmias) may be at a higher risk of suffering a severe reaction to the HPV vaccine.
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/vaccines/reported-side-effects-hpv-vaccine-parents-teens-worried
TEXAS GOVERNOR ORDERS STD VACCINE FOR ALL GIRLS
Decision comes after maker of cervical cancer shot doubled lobbying efforts
updated 2/3/2007 1:00:35 PM ET
AUSTIN, Texas — Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Perry tied to Merck
Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.
The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.
Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.
“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”
Opt-out option for parents
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/texas-governor-orders-std-vaccine-all-girls/#.TkDJUoL0Sso
Gov Perry Under Pressure to Rescind Cervical Cancer Vaccination Order to Protect Girls From HPV
Monday, February 05, 2007 AP
Gov. Rick Perry
AUSTIN, Texas — An influential state senator and close ally of Gov. Rick Perry urged him Monday to rescind his executive order making Texas the first state to mandate vaccinations for girls against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, chairwoman of the Senate’s health and human services committee, said lawmakers should have been allowed to hear from doctors, scientists and patients before the state implemented such a sweeping mandate.
“This is not an emergency,” said Nelson, a Republican from Flower Mound. “It needs to be discussed and debated.”
Perry ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules requiring the Merck & Co.’s new Gardasil vaccine for girls entering sixth grade as of September 2008. The vaccine protects girls against strains of the human papillomavirus that cause most cases of cervical cancer.
The Legislature has no authority to repeal Perry’s executive order. Nelson said she plans to ask Attorney General Greg Abbott for an opinion on the legality of Perry’s order.
(Story continues below)
• Merck Lobbies For HPV Vaccine to Become Law
• FDA Approves Cervical Cancer Vaccine
• Cervical Cancer Vaccine Wins Federal Approval
Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody said there are no plans to change course.
“The governor stands by his decision to ensure young women in Texas can receive this valuable vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer,” she said.
Nelson was joined by Republican state Reps. Jim Keffer of Eastland and Dan Flynn of Canton, all of whom said their phone lines were filled with parents complaining about Perry’s order Friday. They said many of their colleagues had expressed similar concerns.
Some conservatives have said they fear that the requirement that girls get the vaccine would condone premarital sex. Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons, but critics of Perry’s order say it still interferes with parental rights.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. And, he ordered Medicaid to offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
In Maryland, Democratic Sen. Delores Kelley said last week she would withdraw her proposal to require the vaccine amid concerns there already are too many vaccine requirements for Maryland schoolchildren.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250337,00.html
TEXAS LAWMAKERS ASK GOV. PERRY TO RESCIND ORDER MANDATING HPV VACCINATION FOR GIRLS ENTERING SIXTH GRADE
Published on February 13, 2007 at 4:25 AM • No Comments
Thirty-two Texas lawmakers last Thursday sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry (R) reiterating their plea for him to rescind an executive order that would mandate vaccination against human papillomavirus for girls entering the sixth grade, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports (AP/Dallas Morning News, 2/9).
Merck’s HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline’s HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine. GSK in April plans to file for FDA approval of Cervarix, and it expects approval by the end of this year. Perry on Feb. 2 signed the executive order, which will affect approximately 365,000 girls annually. Perry said that parents who do not want their daughters to receive an HPV vaccine “for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs,” will be able to opt out of the requirement. Under the executive order, girls and women ages nine to 21 who are eligible for public assistance will be able to receive Gardasil at no cost beginning immediately. Perry spokesperson Krista Moody said the state would increase funding for existing health programs by $29.4 million annually to help cover the cost of the vaccine for low-income women and girls (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 2/6).
Letter, Bills, Reaction
Perry’s order “usurped the legislative process,” the letter — signed by 31 Republican representatives and one Democratic representative — said, adding, “While philosophic differences will dictate where our beliefs fall, no Texan would willfully abdicate their voice in the Legislature to a single office of their government” (AP/Dallas Morning News, 2/9). According to the Dallas Morning News, at least 26 of the 31 Texas senators also have signed a letter to Perry asking him to withdraw the order. The governor as chief executive officer of the state has constitutional ability to issue directives, Perry spokesperson Robert Black said. He added that lawmakers have the right to modify or rescind an executive order through legislation (Hoppe, Dallas Morning News, 2/8). Several bills have been filed this week to overturn Perry’s order and to prevent the vaccine from being required for a student’s admission to school, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Rep. Charlie Howard (R) has introduced a bill (HB 1115) that would block Perry’s order (Elliot, San Antonio Express-News, 2/7). Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R) has introduced a duplicate bill (HB 1098) that would overturn the order, and state Sen. Jane Nelson (R) on Wednesday asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) to issue an opinion on the legality of Perry’s order (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 2/8).
Editorial
“Gardasil may well be the huge medical breakthrough it appears to be,” but “a rush to make it mandatory, less than eight months after FDA approval, could have detrimental consequences,” a USA Today editorial says. The “[s]cientific uncertainty” of Gardasil, the lack of public education about the vaccine and HPV being a sexually transmitted infection can “spark an anti-vaccine backlash that would result in fewer girls getting immunized against cervical cancer and other diseases,” according to USA Today. “With more public education and real-life experience, these qualms may soon be overcome, and the vaccine may well deserve to be included on lists of required immunizations,” the editorial says, adding, “For now, however, making [the vaccine] mandatory is premature.” Sometimes, “promotion of a medical advance can move too fast for its own good,” the editorial says, adding that the HPV vaccine “ought to be available at an affordable price to everyone who wants it after consulting with a doctor” (USA Today, 2/9).
Opinion Piece
“The executive order … will help stop the spread of [HPV] and prevent cervical cancer in young women” and as “governor of Texas, I will do everything in my power to protect public health,” Perry writes in a USA Today opinion piece. “Though some might argue that we should wait several years before requiring the vaccine, I believe such a delay unnecessarily risks the lives of young women,” he writes. According to Perry, parents and guardians still will have the “final word” in deciding whether to vaccinate their children, and a “full debate will take place” before implementation rules are adopted in 19 months. If “Texas legislators want to debate and pass a different vaccine law, there is nothing standing in their way,” Perry writes, concluding, “This is a rare opportunity to act, and as a pro-life governor, I will always take the side of protecting life” (Perry, USA Today, 2/9).
________________________________________
This article is republished with kind permission from our friends at the The Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery of in-depth coverage of health policy developments, debates and discussions. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for Kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Copyright 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Posted in: Women’s Health News
Tags: Cancer, CDC, Cervical Cancer, Education, Gardasil, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Immunization, Medical Legislation, Vaccine
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/02/13/21881.aspx
Not so fast on cervical cancer vaccinations
posted by MikeGriffin on Feb 16, 2007 6:12:12 PM
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to require all pre-teen girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) that is one cause for cervical cancer has drawn fire from conservative political groups, parents and consumer advocates.
HPV is a sexually transmited virus and requiring 11-year-olds to be vaccinated the same way they get shots for measles and other diseases is jarring. Add to that the political intrigue: It turns out that Mr. Perry’s former chief of staff is a lobbyist for Merck & Co., the only manufacturer of the drug that has been shown to prevent the virus — Gardasil.
Does requiring pre-teen girls to have get this vaccine promote premarital sex?
Conservative groups think inoculating little girls against sexually transmitted disease is a tacit acceptance — or encouragement — of immoral behavior. But right-wingers aren’t the only ones concerned.
The jury is still out on this drug’s long-term effectiveness. And there have been some negative reactions reported. Plus, Merck & Co. is spending millions of dollars to market the drug and their political ties run deep in almost every state. Florida, by the way, is not immune. There are efforts to get a mandatory vaccination legislation pitched in Tallahassee.
Obviously, curing cancer in all of its forms ought to be the goal of modern medicine. But is it medical science, or politics and slick marketing, that’s driving this push for HPV vaccinations?
Filed under: Health
COMMENTS
Before any more young girls are threatened by this inadequately tested drug, Gardasil, the public needs to be told the following facts:
Cervical cancer affects less than one-tench of one percent of women in the U.S. annually. There is no raging epidemic to rationalize injecting young girls.
Gardasil did not originate with Merck. Two researchers in a federal agency, Drs. John Schiller and Douglas Lowy of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute developed the technology. The NIH Office of Technology Transfer sought out Merck to formulate the vaccine and conduct clinical trials.
The FDA, which receives funding from NIH, put this vaccine on a fast track, meaning the time from clinical trial to launch was shortened. This was the first time in the history of the FDA that this had been done with a vaccine.
Voting for this fast track were advisory committee members with conflicts of interest who were given a waiver. When the FDA met to license Gardasil, four of the permanent members were absent from the meeting and did not vote. Instead, government employees voted. Why is that a conflict of interest? Because their government colleagues along with the NIH stood to collect millions of dollars from Gardasil sales over its presumed life. That’s because the NIH Office of Technology Transfer licensed their HPV technology to both Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, effectively handing a monopoly to two of the largest pharmaceutical companies.
In Merck’s 2005 annual report to shareholders, they state: “In Februrary 2005, the Company announced that it and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) entered into a cross-license and settlement agreement for certain patent rights related to HPV vaccines. Pursuant to the agreement, GSK will receive an upfront payment and royalties from the Company based upon sales of Gardasil….”
The clinical trial for Gardasil only encompassed a few hundred girls in the 11-12 year old age group. Texas Governor Rick Perry’s mandatory order, if it stands, will actually be the clinical trial for this age group, effectively testing a vaccine for health hazards AFTER it has been approved. Here’s what the FDA’s letter of June 8, 2006 told Merck it had to do in conjunction with getting its Gardasil approval: “…a sufficient number of children 11-12 years of age will be studied to permit an analysis of safety outcomes. The final study protocol will be submitted by December 31, 2006. Patient accrual will be completed by December 31, 2008.”
Merck had three vaccines approved by the FDA last year. An unprecedented coup. This week, Merck’s infant vaccine, RotaTeq, was given a warning by the FDA for being linked to a potentially life threatening condition in babies. (See FDA text below.)
There is substantive evidence to suggest that the FDA has bought in to Merck’s model of doing business. Here’s the email that explains that model (published in the Wall Street Journal in an expose of how Merck had lied about the safety of its big blockbuster drug,
Vioxx): Dr. Edward Scolnick, chief of research at Merck speaking about Vioxx: “We have a great drug and like angioedema with Vasotec and seizures with Primaxin and myopathy with Mevacor there is always a hazard. The class will do well and so will we.”
Experts now believe that over 140,000 heart attacks, strokes and other serious medical injuries occurred because of taking Vioxx. The product was pulled from the market and Merck reports in its SEC filings that it is facing 27,400 lawsuits.
And one final point. Once the CDC approved Gardasil, Merck was on its way to being liability free on Gardasil, no matter how many young girls became seriously ill, developed arthritis, or died. A CDC approved vaccine for children is almost always given a liability waiver by the US Dept of Health and Human Services.
Sincerely,
Pam Martens
Excerpt from FDA release:
February 13, 2007
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying health care providers and consumers about 28 post-marketing reports of intussusception following administration of Rotavirus, Live, Oral, Pentavalent vaccine (trade name RotaTeq), manufactured by Merck and Co., Inc. Intussusception is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the intestine gets blocked or twisted. One portion of the intestine telescopes into a nearby portion, causing the intestinal obstruction. The most common site is where the small intestine joins the large intestine.
Intussusception can occur spontaneously in the absence of vaccination. Of the reported 28 cases of intussusception, the number that may have been caused by the vaccine, or occurred by coincidence, is unknown.
FDA is issuing this notification both to encourage the reporting of any additional cases of intussusception that may have occurred or occur in the future after administration of RotaTeq, and to remind people that intussusception is a potential complication of RotaTeq,.
Posted by: Pam Martens | February 16, 2007 at 08:28 PM
It’s frightening hearing that we are allowing Drug companys to use people as Guinea Pigs then waive their liability; Doctors aren’t afforded this luxury… Forcing women of any age to have a poorly tested vaccine is just another move towards feeding man’s greed for the almighty dollar and their egos so they can feel superior and control women. Women fought to earn the right to have the ultimate say over what we do with our bodies. Men need to grow up and spend their energy on developing postive and TESTED solutions for women’s health issues. YOUR MOTHER, SISTER, DAUGHTER AND WIFE ARE WATCHING!
Posted by: Julie | February 21, 2007 at 10:06 AM
It’s interesting to note that Merck & Co. announced it is dropping its lobbying efforts in 20 states where mandatory vaccination bills were being proposed.
So, the manufacturer of Gardasil abandoned the strident public-health argument after reporters started looking into the money the company was sinking into its lobbying efforts.
Posted by: MikeGriffin | February 21, 2007 at 04:20 PM
TEXAS MANDATES CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
November 20, 2009 8:00 AM
(CBS/AP) Bypassing the Legislature, Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By issuing an executive order, Perry apparently sidesteps opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way parents raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to get Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Millions of Americans have seen the ad blitz for Gardasil. The vaccine promises to reduce the number of HPV related cervical cancers by more than 70 percent, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said in announcing the order.
“If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well-being of these individuals to have those vaccines available,” he said.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
Perry also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/02/health/main2427919.shtml
FDA PANEL BACKS GIVING HPV VACCINE GARDASIL TO YOUNG MALES
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Sept. 11
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) — U.S. drug advisors recommended Wednesday that use of the vaccine Gardasil, already administered to help prevent cervical cancer in women, be expanded to help prevent genital warts in young males.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted to recommend the expanded use of the vaccine for males 9 to 26. The FDA is not required to follow its advisory panels’ recommendations, but it typically does.
The vaccine targets the human papilloma virus, which can cause genital warts in both males and females, cervical cancer in women and also penile and anal cancer in men — although these remain much rarer than cervical malignancies.
The vaccine is manufactured by drug maker Merck & Co.
Merck had asked the FDA to approve Gardasil for males ages 9 to 26. It is already approved in females 9 and older to help prevent cervical cancer.
Before the Gardasil vote, the committee on Wednesday also voted that a second HPV vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix, seems safe for girls and women ages 10 to 25 for the prevention of cervical cancer. Studies have shown that the vaccine prevents infection with HPV 93 percent of the time. The introduction of Cervarix was delayed in 2007 when the FDA said it needed more research on the vaccine.
The FDA advisors — comprising the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee — said Wednesday that newer studies suggest the Cervarix vaccine is safe, but they recommended follow-up studies to look for miscarriages and muscular problems reported by a small number of patients, the Associated Press reported.
The vote to expand the use of Gardasil to males was not unexpected among health experts.
“It is really hard to get a read on these things, but I don’t think anybody is going to be shocked if eventually this is extended to boys, especially since the science is pretty solid here,” Fred Wyand, a spokesman for the American Social Health Association, in Research Triangle Park, N.C., said before the vote.
“I would not be surprised at all if FDA approved the new indication,” agreed Dr. Jonathan L. Temte, a professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
Temte is also a voting member of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and explained that if the FDA approves the new use for males, the CDC committee can expect to see the item on its agenda in October.
Health experts believe it makes sense to vaccinate boys against the HPV virus.
“We’re supportive in general of giving vaccines to boys for a number of reasons,” Wyand said. “Clinical trials have shown it’s pretty effective — 90 percent effective in preventing genital lesions [in boys]. Trials in a subset of gay men also found the vaccine to be effective in preventing external lesions, so the signs are pretty clear that it works in guys.”
Vaccinating boys would help shield girls, too, the experts added.
“It’s a sexually transmitted disease, and it takes two people to transmit the virus,” said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. “If the vaccine can reduce the risk of infection in men as well as women, then I believe it should be given to both men and women.”
But Gardasil has generated controversy, especially with some conservatives and parents’ rights groups who contend the vaccine could promote premarital sex.
Gardasil, which was approved for girls in 2006, covers four types of HPV, two of which cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers worldwide.
Since its approval, Gardasil has proven to be safe and nearly 100 percent effective in preventing precancerous cervical lesions from the four HPV strains targeted by the vaccine, according to studies. However, there have been side effects reported that include fainting and blood clotting. Research published last month found that for every 100,000 doses of HPV vaccine distributed, there were 8.2 episodes of fainting and 0.2 episodes involving blood clotting.
Studies have also found that Gardasil is much more effective when given to girls or young women before they become sexually active.
“The reason you give this is to prevent disease, and that’s why we start at 11 or 12, before girls are sexually active,” said Dr. Lolita McDavid, medical director of Child Advocacy and Protection at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. “About 10,000 American women will get cervical cancer in a year; about 3,700 are going to die from it.”
“About 250,000 new case of genital warts appear in males every year,” she added. “There certainly seems to be a benefit for males.”
Experts hope that making the vaccine available for boys will have additional, non-medical benefits.
“Countless studies show that a lot of shame and stigma almost universally comes with any HPV diagnosis,” Wyand said. “That’s another factor that weighs into it. Hopefully, approving the vaccine for males would reduce any stigma.”
More information
There’s more on HPV at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCES: Fred Wyand, spokesman, American Social Health Association, Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Jay Brooks, M.D., chairman, hematology/oncology, Ochsner Health System, Baton Rouge, La.; Lolita McDavid, M.D., medical director, Child Advocacy & Protection, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland; Jonathan L. Temte, M.D., Ph.D., professor, family medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and voting member, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, CDC; briefing materials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/fda-panel-backs-giving-hpv-vaccine-gardasil-boys/story?id=8531585&page=2
INFERTILITY CONCERN WITH GARDASIL HPV VACCINE
Mercola on Gardasil problems-HPV vaccine
Does the HPV Vaccine LITERALLY Mean “One Less”?
Marketing geniuses are known to play on words and create slogans with quirky double meanings, and if you’ve been tracking the concerns raised about the potential hazards of Gardasil and Cervarix, the potential for these HPV vaccines to cause infertility – whether purposely or inadvertently – is being heard with ever increasing frequency.
The federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) has received over 9,000 reports of problems since the vaccine’s introduction in 2006, which include at least 28 spontaneous abortions, and 27 deaths.
Is it possible that Gardasil’s cry to fame, ‘One Less’, is turning out to be nothing but a sick, ironic play on words?
Anti-Fertility Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its subsidiaries have been actively researching and funding the development of contraceptive / anti-fertility vaccines that prevent full-term pregnancies to take place, for over 20 years. There’s even a Task Force on Birth Control Vaccines of the WHO!
However, no anti-fertility vaccine has ever been placed on the market and promoted as such as of yet.
Instead, as described in a 1993 journal paper published in The British Medical Bulletin, anti-fertility vaccines were being engineered “incorporating tetanus or diphtheria toxoid linked to a variety of hCG-based peptides.”
The authors of this article state,
“The fundamental principle behind this approach to contraceptive vaccine development is to prevent the maternal recognition of pregnancy by inducing a state of immunity against hGC, the hormone that signals the presence of the embryo to the maternal endocrine system.”
Free tetanus vaccines that were offered to young women of childbearing age for years in countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Mexico, and the Philippines, were found to contain human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), which causes spontaneous abortions if the woman becomes pregnant.
While the woman is not technically sterilized, once injected with hCG, she may never be able to carry a child full term thereafter.
HCG-containing anti-fertility vaccines have also been pursued for more than two decades by the Indian National Institute of Immunology, and The Population Council of the Rockefeller University, among others.
In fact, there are no less than 50 research papers detailing research on “contraceptive vaccines” in the PubMed database.
One disturbing paper published in the FASEB Journal in 1993 states:
“… we initiated studies relating to possible mechanisms of action and potential side effects of this vaccine, which should be relevant to world-wide regulation of population growth.”
So again, why the frantic push for the HPV vaccine, created for young, fertile women, when there’s NO solid, rational basis for its use?
Massive Brazilian Vaccination Program Raises Suspicions of Covert Sterilization Plans
A much more recent case of illogical mass vaccinations against a minor health problem is that of the massive, mandatory vaccination program in Brazil, which has raised suspicions among international pro-life activists, who note that the program is similar to other vaccination programs in recent years that have included a hidden sterilizing agent in the vaccines.
The campaign to “annihilate rubella” began in early August this year, mandating rubella vaccinations for all women ages 12 to 49, and 12 to 39 for men; a total of 70 million people, despite the fact that only 17 Brazilian children per year suffer birth defects from the disease.
Adolfo Castañeda of Human Life International notes that just two years ago, researchers found that the rubella vaccine used in a similar campaign in Argentina was laced with human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG).
“The suspicion that brought about the investigation [into the rubella vaccine] was caused by the fact that there were very few cases of the disease in Argentina, which didn’t merit a large-scale campaign,” Castañeda said, adding, “The ages for women are the same as those who received the vaccines in Nicaragua, where they included a hormone that sterilizes the woman who receives it, and similar to the age of those who received another sterilizing hormone in the Philippines.”
Polysorbate-80 – One Less Mouse, Researchers Found
Now, let me state clearly that there’s no proof of hCG being present in any of the current HPV vaccines.
I am merely playing devil’s advocate as I examine the similarities between these other irrational vaccination programs in other countries for relatively minor public health concerns — that turn out to have far more sinister agendas than mere greed – compared to the fervent, irrational push behind the HPV vaccine here in the U.S.
However, Gardasil does contain Polysorbate-80 – a surfactant used in pharmacology to deliver certain drugs or chemical agents across the blood-brain barrier — which has been linked to infertility in mice.
Researchers Gajdova et.al. found that administration of Polysorbate-80 decreased the weight of the uterus and ovaries, and caused chronic estrogenic stimulation. The ovaries of the mice were also without corpora lutea (a mass of progesterone-secreting endocrine tissue that forms immediately after ovulation) and had degenerative follicles.
So what might the estrogenic effects of Polysorbate-80 be on pre-adolescent girls and pregnant women?
Anti-Fertility Vaccine Ingredient Also Has Clinical Application in Cancer Vaccines…
A potential coincidence I find most disturbing is some of the more recent research detailing the use of hCG, and other molecules, in vaccines against hCG-producing cancers, such as – certain cervical cancers.
One 2005 paper titled, Recent advances in contraceptive vaccine development: a mini-review published in the journal Human Reproduction concludes:
“At the present time, studies are focused on increasing the immunogenicity and efficacy of the birth control vaccine, and examining its clinical applications in various HCG-producing cancers.”
But research published just a few months ago in the journal Molecular Cancer states that the free ?-subunit of hCG (hCG?) – which was originally considered biologically non-functional — has recently been shown to stimulate tumor growth, and lead to more aggressive tumors that are more resistant to therapy.
Again, I’m mentioning all of this because it just goes to show that pharmaceutical companies have little or no clue of the extent of harm these vaccines might cause, especially long-term. Something believed to be completely non-functional or harmless can turn out to be a MAJOR cause for concern after more thorough investigation.
For example, Gardasil also contains L-histadine, and histamines have been found to increase clot production five-fold when combined with, guess what? Surfactants! (L-histidine can also pass through your placental wall to your fetus.)
Granted, this laboratory investigative report titled Surfactants Attenuate Gas Embolism-induced Thrombin Production used surfactants like Perftoran, not Polysorbate-80, in their trials, but could Polysorbate-80 have a similar effect?
Could this explain why death from blood clots within hours or days is the MOST COMMON form of death after receiving Gardasil?
The HPV vaccine clearly has a lot of questions left to be answered. And those questions should be answered BEFORE pushing Gardasil on an unsuspecting public at the rate that it’s being done.
Be One Less to Get Gardasil
I think this would be a more appropriate message to send out to young women: There is absolutely no reason to risk the serious side effects of this vaccine to prevent an infection that goes away on its own 90 percent of the time. And there’s no guarantee that you’ll be protected anyway, since you can still get HPV once you’ve had the vaccine. It’s really a no-win situation for those who receive it.
Of course, you can radically reduce your risk of getting HPV in the first place if you follow safe-sex practices, or wait to have sex until you’re in a committed relationship. Then, keep your immune system in tip-top shape, and it will be more than able to shake any HPV virus that comes its way.
Related Articles:
The HPV Vaccine: Preventive Care or Human Sacrifice?
Thousands Have Gotten Sick from Gardasil HPV Vaccine
Why Use Vaccine for HPV When Green Tea Works?
http://www.offtheradar.co.nz/vaccines/61-infertility-concern-with-gardasil-hpv-vaccine.html
Eugenics Vaccines Sterilisation Abortion
More options Jan 12 2008, 5:06 pm
http://www.whale.to/m/sterile.html
Vaccines, Sterilisation & Abortion
[1]Unethical vaccine agendas
“The HPV vaccine has only been tested for five years on possibly as low
as 100,000 ten year old girls in Africa.” [2]You read it here first –
Gardasil by Erika Schwartz, MD
“[3]Gardasil contains [4]Polysorbate 80, which is linked to infertility
in mice,” noted Dee Nicholson, National Communications Director for
Freedom in Canadian Health Care. [5][Nov 2007] Sleight of Handling:
More Merck Magic Tricks With HPV Vaccine By Christopher C. Barr
[6][2006] United States Funding Sterilizations of Philippine Women
[7]Vaccines and the Akha People of Thailand. Tetanus Toxoid and
spontaneous abortions
[8]Parenting with Deadly Timely Propaganda –Dr. Len Horowitz
[9]Genocide in a vaccine: Pantheism’s moral Chemistry by Suzanne Rini
[10]Vaccine fertility control: the last mass control weapon of the
establisment
[11]Supplementary information on vaccine safety WHO/V&B/00
[2007] [12]Gardasil shot implications
[13][July 2006] British Politician Goes On TV Demanding The Truth Be
Told About The Strange Death Of Micro-Biologist, Dr. David Kelly
[14]Vaccine Boycott Grows in Northern Nigeria
See: [15]Vaccine genocide [16]Genocide
Quotes
Kelly was said to be involved in the apartheid regime’s most secret
project. According to a previous London press account, Kelly was
involved in Code-named Project Coast, trying to create a genetically
engineered weapon to attack only the country’s black population and to
develop a vaccine to block human fertility in blacks. Dr. Kelly had
visited the project’s headquarters soon after he was appointed in 1972
to be head of the microbiology department at Porton Down, Britain’s
top-secret biological warfare establishment in Wiltshire.
A northern state in Nigeria that is at the heart of a spreading polio
outbreak said Sunday that it would not relent on its boycott of a mass
vaccination program, which it has called a U.S. plot to spread AIDS and
infertility among Muslims ….Kano state officials say their lab tests
carried out late last year found estrogen and other female sex hormones
in the polio vaccine — proof, they say, that the vaccines are
contaminated. [17][Media Feb 2004] Province at heart of outbreak
alleges anti-Muslim plot
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the committee’s interim report
that ruled the vaccines safe. However, it acknowledged the tests showed
“trace amounts of estradiol,” a form of the female hormone estrogen the
vaccine’s Muslim detractors claim could cause infertility. …Muslims
in Nigeria’s north have been wary of vaccine campaigns since 1996, when
families in Kano state accused New York-based Pfizer Inc. of using an
experimental meningitis drug without fully informing of the
risks…..The company denied any wrongdoing. A U.S. court dismissed a
lawsuit by 20 disabled Nigerians who allegedly took part in the study,
but a U.S. appeals court later revived it. [18]Vaccine Boycott Grows in
Northern Nigeria
“At present, we are doing research on the Tetanus Vaccines that were
given last March 1994 by our Dept. of Health to women of reproductive
age. Many of the women complained of bleeding (miscarriages) and
allergies. We got alarmed recently when we received communications from
Magally Llaguno that the vaccine in Mexico contained hCG . . . If you
have enough [research] papers, could your group do a press release via
international press like Reuters so that all countries could be
alerted?” [19]Genocide in a vaccine: Pantheism’s moral Chemistry by
Suzanne Rini
In the area of the iris that corresponds to the uterus, in three of the
girls he saw tissue damage, and in the fourth he saw drug residue. In
each of the four cases, on reporting back to the patient what he was
observing, he was informed that the girl had recently received the
cervical cancer vaccine. All were virgins.
Tissue damage in the uterus is what he sees in women who have had
such things as abortions and prolapses, and can be a precursor to
cancer. It can also cause infertility – as it can prevent the embryo
from being able to hold on to the uterus wall. It also often results in
lack of sensitivity with sexual intercourse, pain, discomfort and/or
frequent discharges. [20]Gardasil shot implications
Administration of tetanus toxoid (either as TT or Td) in mass campaigns
is generally as part of a high risk approach delivering the vaccine to
women of childbearing age in a given locality…………. 5 doses of
tetanus toxoid for women of child-bearing age as for non-HIV infected
persons. [21]Supplementary information on vaccine safety WHO/V&B/00
(added emphasis)
“One CFR published policy objective is substantial worldwide
depopulation including half of the current U.S. population being
targeted. This population reduction program is largely funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation and the Merck Fund, both financially and
administratively linked to the Merck pharmaceutical company–the
world’s leading vaccine manufacturer……..Records show the Merck
pharmaceutical company received a major share of the Nazi “flight
capital” at the close of World War II when its president, George W.
Merck, was America’s biological weapons industry director. These facts
were revealed by Norman Covert, Army public relations director at Fort
Detrick in Frederick, MD, and veteran news correspondent Paul Manning
in his book “Martin Bormann: Nazi in Exile” (Lyle Stuart, Inc, 1981).
“—[22]Dr Horowitz
An astonishing journal paper. 1 November, 1993. FASEB Journal,
volume 7, pp.1381-1385. Authors–Stephan Dirnhofer et al. Dirnhofer is
from the Institute for Biomedical Aging Research of the Austrian
Academy of Sciences. A quote from the paper: “Our study provides
insights into possible modes of action of the birth control vaccine
promoted by the Task Force on Birth Control Vaccines of the WHO (World
Health Organization).”A birth control vaccine? What? Yes. A vaccine
whose purpose is to achieve non-pregnancy where it ordinarily could
occur.Sterilization? This particular vaccine is apparently just one of
several anti-fertility vaccines the Task Force is promoting. Yes. There
is a Task Force on Birth Control Vaccines at WHO. This journal paper
focuses on a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin B (hCG). There
is a heading in the paper (p.1382) called “Ability of antibodies to
neutralize the biological activity of hCG.” The authors are trying to
discover whether a state of no-fertility can be achieved by blocking
the normal activity of hCG. They state, “We conclude from our results
that both the efficacy and safety of the WHO vaccine are not yet
ensured.”
Another journal paper. The British Medical Bulletin, volume
49,1993. “Contraceptive Vaccines” is the title of the paper. The
authors–RJ Aitken et al. From the MRC Reproductive Biology Unit,
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
“Three major approaches to contraceptive vaccine development are
being pursued at the present time. The most advanced approach, which
has already reached the stage of phase 2 clinical trials [human trials
testing efficacy], involves the induction of immunity against human
chorionic gonadotro-phin (hCG). Vaccines are being engineered …
incorporating tetanus or diptheria toxoid linked to a variety of
hCG-based peptides… Clinical trials have revealed that such
preparations are capable of stimulating the production of anti-hCG
antibodies. However, the long-term consequences of such immu nity in
terms of safety or efficacy are, as yet, unknown…The authors are
talking about creating an immune response against a female
hormone….The authors state, “The fundamental principle behind this
approach to contraceptive vaccine development is to prevent the
maternal recognition of pregnancy by inducing a state of immunity
against hGC, the hormone mat signals the presence of the embryo to the
maternal endocrine system.”…… [23]Rappoport, Jon (Ownership of All
Life p66)
“In 1995, a Catholic human rights organization called Human Life
International accused the WHO of promoting a Canadian-made tetanus
vaccine laced with a pregancy hormone called human choriogonadotropic
hormone (HCG). Suspicions were aroused when the tetanus vaccine was
prescribed in the unusual dose of five multiple injections over a
three month period, and recommended only to women of reproductive age.
When an unusual number of women experienced vaginal bleeding and
miscarriages after the shots, a hormone additive was uncovered as the
cause.
Apparently the WHO has been developing and testing anti-fertility
vaccines for over two decades. Women receiving the laced tetanus shot
not only developed antibodies to tetanus, but they also developed
dangerous antibodies to the pregnancy hormone as well. Without this HCG
hormone the growth of the fetus is impaired. Consequently, the laced
vaccine served as a covert contraceptive device. Commissioned to
analyze the vaccine, the Philippines Medical Association found that
20 percent of the WHO tetanus vaccines were contaminated with the
hormone. Not surprisingly, the WHO has denied all accusations as
“completely false and without basis,” and the major media have never
reported on the controversy. For futher details on this issue, consult
the Human Life International website ([24]www.hli.org).”— [25]Dr Alan
Cantwell MD
“Non Voluntary Vaccinations of Akha Women. Possibility of link to
In-utero deaths among Akha women which are frequent in this region.
This vaccination given twice to three times during pregnancy. Akha
women in Thailand say that if they object they are told that they will
not be given identity papers for their child when born.”
[[26]Home]
References
1. http://www.whale.to/m/exp8.html
2. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/gardasil223.html
3. http://www.whale.to/vaccines/gardasil_h.html
4. http://www.whale.to/v/tween_80.html
5. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/barr.html
6. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/ster.html
7. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/akha.html
8. http://www.whale.to/vaccines/horowitz1.html
9. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/rini.html
10. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/vaccine_fertility_control.html
11. http://www.whale.to/a/whovb00.html
12. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/gardasil_shot_implications.html
13. http://www.whale.to/b/kelly78.html
14. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/vaccine_boycott.html
15. http://www.whale.to/v/biowarfare.html
16. http://www.whale.to/b/genocide_h.html
17. http://www.whale.to/a/nig.html
18. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/vaccine_boycott.html
19. http://www.all.org/issues/rini002.htm
20. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/gardasil_shot_implications.html
21. http://www.whale.to/a/whovb00.html
22. http://www.whale.to/vaccines/horowitz1.html
23. http://www.whale.to/w/rappoport.html
24. http://www.hli.org/
25. http://www.whale.to/v/cantwell.html
26. http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.activism.progressive/browse_thread/thread/164cfe6597135bbb/ce29c4d006e9f2c4?lnk=raot
updated 2/3/2007 1:00:35 PM ET
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AUSTIN, Texas — Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.
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Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.
“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Perry tied to Merck
Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.
The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.
Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.
“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”
Opt-out option for parents
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16948093/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/texas-governor-orders-std-vaccine-all-girls/#.UjqBYz8kLJo
Planning for the Promise of HPV vaccines
With a one-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH is planning activities to accelerate access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in developing countries. Efforts include:
• Building partnerships with industry.
• Evaluating the investment case for financing HPV vaccines in developing countries.
• Developing criteria for and identifying potential early-introduction countries.
• Synthesizing information from four developing countries on sociocultural, logistical, policy, and clinical needs related to HPV vaccine introduction.
• Identifying available information on the HPV vaccine and key information needs.
A Coordinated Approach to HPV Vaccine Introduction
In addition to PATH’s activities, Harvard University, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the World Health Organization (WHO) also are preparing for HPV vaccine introduction in low-resource settings. The collective activities of these four organizations, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, represent a coordinated strategy for exploring how to make HPV vaccines available, acceptable, and affordable to those most in need. Read WHO’s June 2005 press release.
Why HPV vaccines?
HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer, a preventable disease that kills more than 270,000 women each year. Most of these deaths and the estimated half a million cervical cancer cases that occur yearly take place in developing countries. Research to date suggests that vaccines against HPV, available in the developed world as early as 2006, are likely to be highly effective in preventing HPV infection, high-grade cervical lesions, and cancer. Decision-model analysis suggests that an HPV vaccine has the potential to reduce the total burden of cervical cancer by 51 percent over a 40- to 50-year period.
These encouraging preliminary study results must be met with efforts to address the technical, political, social, economic, and logistical challenges in providing HPV vaccines to developing countries. A collaborative effort among industry, the public sector in developing countries, global vaccine distributors, and other key stakeholders is needed to ensure access to these promising vaccines.
Current vaccine candidates are being developed to protect against HPV types 16 and 18, the oncogenic types that are believed to be responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer. One vaccine candidate protects against HPV types 6 and 11, which cause genital warts. Because some 30 percent of cancers are caused by other HPV types, women can still become infected with other cancer-causing HPV types, even if the vaccines are completely effective. Additionally, the impact of a vaccine on reducing cervical cancer mortality, particularly if administered to young adolescents, will not be measurable for decades to come—the amount of time it would take for girls to reach an age when they might otherwise have developed cancer. Therefore, new vaccines will need to be introduced in conjunction with other prevention strategies, such as screening and treatment of precancer.
Read our HPV Vaccine Fact Sheets:
• A Status Report on Human Papillomavirus Vaccines
• HPV and Cervical Cancer: Unique Challenges and Opportunities for Disease Prevention
• Introducing HPV Vaccines in Developing Countries: Overcoming the Challenges
For more information on cervical cancer prevention, view the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention publications.
Current Status of First Generation Vaccines
Manufacturer Vaccine type HPV types Status Study characteristics
Merck & Co., Inc.*
L1 VLP based on recombinant yeast technology
16, 18, 6, 11
Phase III underway; regulatory submissions expected late 2005.
Enrolled 23,000 women and children to date in North America, Latin America, Europe, Southeast and East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)*
L1 VLP (Cervarix™) based on recombinant baculovirus technology
16, 18
Phase III underway; regulatory submission expected in 2006.
15,000 women aged 18–25 in Costa Rica (run by NCI**); 13,000 women aged 15–25; multicenter representing four continents
*These manufacturers’ HPV vaccines are the closest to being introduced in developing country markets.
**United States National Cancer Institute
http://www.alliance-cxca.org/HPVVaccine.html
3 AP GIRLS DEAD IN DRUG TRIAL
By DC Correspondent
Scroll down to also read of “The deaths of two tribal girls in the HPV vaccine trial in Gujarat” and “India’s Cervical Cancer Bazaar”
And read more HERE and HERE
New Delhi, March 13: The death of three tribal girls living in a common hostel who were administered the cervical cancer vaccine in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh has shaken the tribal community in this region.
The girls, 13-year old Sarita, 13-year old Sodi Sayamma and a third girl with no history of medical illness were administered the vaccine against the HPV virus called Gardasil.
Dr Rukmini Rao of the Hyderabad-based Gramya Resource Centre for Women confirms that activists working in the Khammam district learnt about the recent deaths of these girls following the administration of the vaccine.
“We learnt that one of the girls died due to convulsions while another had a epileptic fit. But the doctors there are passing these deaths off as cases of suicide,” said Dr Rao.
Dr B. Jaikumar, district immunity officer, Khammam, who heads the implementation of this programme, however, insisted that these deaths were caused by suicide.
“The three post-mortems show that these are cases of suicide. The 14,000 girls who were administered this vaccine showed mild side effects such as headaches and swellings but nothing serious,” said Jaikumar.
When asked what the age group of the girls who had been administered these drugs, Dr Jaikumar told this newspaper, “On an average, we took 2,000 girls from each of the age groups of 10, 11 up to 14 years of age before the girls become sexually active.”
Fifteen thousand tribal girls between the ages of 10-14 have been administered three doses of this vaccine at Rs 9,000 each. The final booster shot was administered in February 2010. The first dose was given in July 2009 and the second dose in October, 2009.
Activists interfacing with these girls pointed out that while Dr Jaikumar may claim there have been no side effects, a large number of students reported suffering from diarrhoea, nausea, allergies and epileptic attacks.
Dr Jaikumar, along with PATH officials who are implementing this project both in Khammam and Vadodara district of Gujarat, claims they took the written consent of their parents before administering this vaccine.
Activist Kalpana of Saheli who has been tracking this case for the last eight months pointed out that the document signed by their parents remains completely one-sided. “It states that the vaccine has no side effects, creates life long immunity and will not create any health problems for their child.”
“This is a distortion of the truth because the vaccine is known to have side effects. In UK, US and European countries, there have been Gardasil-linked deaths. In the US, 61 deaths have been listed with the US Federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System,” Ms Kalpana said.
The three blocks chosen in Andhra Pradesh are Thirumalayapalem, Kothagudem and Badrachalam.
Teenage tribal girls living in hostels are known to become sexually active at a young age and there are occasional cases of suicide caused by failed love affairs. But in the cases of these young girls, their parents vouch that this was not the case.
The cost of this demonstration project is being met by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr VM Katoch, director, ICMR, who is a partner in the execution of this project along with the Welfare Department of the Andhra Pradesh government admits there are shortcomings to this whole project. ` Cervical cancer has many causes and this vaccine will prevent two strains of virus . The government needs to develop an indigenous treatment which can then be disseminated widely,’’ said Katoch .
While government sources in the health ministry point out that there is little chance of this expensive vaccine becoming part of the National Immunisation Program, activists point out that the government indifference to the fate of these young girls can be gauged from the fact that despite writing several letters to the health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad highlighting the shortcomings of this immunisation project, they have not received any acknowledgement so far..
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April 06 2010
GUJARAT GIRLS WERE ALSO GIVEN CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
New Delhi: The controversial cervical cancer vaccine trial which raised many ethical questions on the project was administered to 10,686 girls in Gujarat in the last three months.
This is in addition to 14,019 girls in Andhra Pradesh who were given three shots in a contentious trial which violates many ethical norms and makes a mockery of the informed consent process.
Four deaths were reported from Andhra Pradesh and two deaths from Gujarat from among the children who were administered these HPV vaccines.
The vaccine is to protect girls from human papilloma virus, one of the important causative agents of cervical cancer, whose prevalence is very high in India.
The cause of deaths was determined as viral fever, drowning, suicide, severe anaemia with malaria and suspected snake bite, S Gandeselvan, the minister of state in the health ministry said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Based on the concerns on these deaths, states have been advised by the Centre not to carry out any further vaccinations at present.
The trial¬conducted by a US-based voluntary outfit PATH in collaboration with ICMR and health departments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat¬was carried out in Khammam and Vadodara.
CPM MP Brinda Karat alleged that PATH planned to have a similar trial in Uttar Pradesh as well.
Two HPV vaccines Gardasil (manufactured by MSD) and Cervarix (made by GSK) underwent phase III clinical trial by the India unit of both companies before the government permits its sale in India.
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March 23 2010
4 WERE GIVEN CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
BOOK THOSE BEHIND AP GIRLS’ DEATH: LEFT
Following the deaths of four Andhra tribal girls who were administered a vaccine against cervical cancer, the Left on Monday asked Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to find out and punish the people responsible for those deaths.
Since 2007, international non-governmental organisation PATH in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and two state governments is conducting trials to find out the usefulness of the vaccines against human papilloma virus as a public health intervention to reduce cervical cancer prevalence.
Within five years, the project sought to vaccinate 32,000 girls of 10-14 years in Khammam in Andhra Pradesh and Vadodara in Gujarat districts to generate crucial information which in the long run may led to cost-effective strategies for public sector HPV immunisation programmes. In Khamman the vaccination began on August 19, 2009. The first shot was followed by two more dosages in October and January. Almost 14,000 were vaccinated but four girls died since August.
“This constitutes shocking criminal negligence on the part of the authorities to permit such a large programme outside the public health service system,” CPM MP Brinda Karat wrote in a letter to Azad on Monday.
The vaccinators claimed they obtained information consent from tribal girls before the shots. But Left activists said there was virtually no pre-information or campaign before the actual vaccination and nobody knows what actually could have been explained to the girls in the name of informed consent.
“Why were mainly tribal children chosen? What is the quality of “informed consent? Tribal children cannot be the means for MNCs to promote their vaccines,” said Karat.
The HPV vaccines ¬ incidentally approved by the Centre for commercial use in India ¬ were donated by the manufacturers ¬ MSD and GSK.
“Soon after the vaccination, ICMR team visited those girls. There were no adverse reaction. We are now conducting a review and should not jump the gun,” ICMR director general V M Katoch told Deccan Herald.
Karat, on the other hand, felt that why such programmes should not take place outside the public health system.
DH News Service , New Delhi, March 22 2010
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March 23rd, 2010
AP MEDICAL OFFICER DENIES VACCINE DEATHS
New Delhi, March 22: In response to the report ¬ 3 AP girls dead in drug trial (dated 13/3/2010) ¬ the district medical and health officer, Khammam, Dr V. Vishnu Mohan, refuted the charges and provided the details of the deaths.
In case of K. Saritha, Dr Mohan said there were complaints that the patient had consumed an unknown insecticide on January 21 and was treated at the GH, Dummagnrem. She was later shifted to the area hospital (AH) Bhadrachalam, but on the way she died. Post mortem was conducted at Bhadrachalam. the cause of death is “ingestion of unknown poison.” The post mortem report is awaited, said Dr Mohan.
Saikumari too had consumed “unknown insecticide” and was admitted to AH in Bhadrachalam. Post mortem was conducted and the PME report is awaited.
Dr Mohan said Kamepally Swathi’s death was due to “pyrexia of unknown origin.” She had developed fever on August 1, 2009 and had taken Paracetamol tablets for three days. She was treated for fever by a local doctor, Dr Ramesh, and was brought to AH in Kothagudem. She slipped into coma on August 8. She was then referred to HQ hospital in Khammam but she developed convulsions and died. Another girl, Suryalaxmi, died after accidentally falling into a pond. Our correspondent responds: The parents of Sarita and Sode Sayamma do not believe their daughters committed suicide.
Dr R. Balasudha, a paramedic at the PHC in Narsapuram block, under which Sarita’s village comes, says categorically that when she was bought to the PHC, “she was suffering severe bouts of epileptic attacks and was very sick.”
The local press and local doctors, including Dr Shekhar, associated with the Nallipaka PHC has reported that many children developed “complications” after they were given the HPV vaccine. Giving the drugs to 10-14 year olds raises serious ethical issues.
The girls along with their parents had been told in writing that this vaccine would not have any side effects but today, there is worldwide evidence to show that deaths, seizures, blood clots, arthritis and paralysis can result from this vaccine. On the other hand the vaccine protects against only two of the 15 sub-types of cervical cancer. The literature distributed to the girls and their parents promises life long immunity whereas scientists associated with this vaccine are on record that booster shots are required after five years.
Vol 7, Issue 11, Dated March 20, 2010
THE CERVICAL CANCER BAZAAR
YOUNG GIRLS ARE BEING GIVEN ANTI-CANCER JABS, WITH DUBIOUS RESULTS, FIND SHANTANU GUHA RAY AND KUNAL MAJUMDER
PREVENTION OR TRAUMA?
HPV vaccine controversy TESTED AND MARKETED TO MILLIONS OF GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN.
HPV vaccine’s side-effects PILEPTIC FITS, BLOOD DISORDERS, ARTHRITIS, NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND SEIZURES
Key global players SEATTLE-BASED MERCK, SHARP & DOHME PRODUCES GARDASIL, WHILE GLAXO SMITHKLINE MAKES CERVARIX
The Indian vaccine market ESTIMATED AT NEARLY $2.5 BILLION, THE INDIAN CERVICAL CANCER MARKET ACCOUNTS FOR A QUARTER OF GLOBAL SALES. IN INDIA, 78,000 WOMEN DIE OF CERVICAL CANCER EACH YEAR
EACH TIME Nageshwara and Venkatamma are asked about Sarita, the farm labourers point to a framed photograph of their daughter. And then they huddle near the entrance of their one-room house in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh and weep inconsolably, recounting a tale of death that came home without warning.
On January 21 this year, Venkatamma found the motionless body of her 13-year-old daughter on the floor. At first she thought her daughter ¬ a student of Lakshminagaram Residential Hostel ¬ had consumed pesticide to commit suicide, possibly after a failed love affair. But the pesticide bottle was intact on the shelf. Sarita was rushed to the nearest healthcare centre where a small team of paramedics and a doctor confirmed that it wasn’t a case of poisoning and referred Sarita to the Bhadrachalam area hospital, 25 km from their house in Anjupaka village. En route, Sarita had a severe epileptic fit. Doctors at the hospital declared that she was “brought dead” and conducted a postmortem. The report was not handed to the parents. At the Nallipaka Public Health Centre (PHC)¬which records all births and deaths in the region ¬ Sarita’s death was recorded as suicide. Nageshwara and Venkatamma refused to accept this and cremated their daughter under protest.
“My daughter did not commit suicide. She did not consume poison,” Nageshwara says firmly. “She had started having fits after the vaccine. She told us, so did the hostel supervisor. The hospital officers are lying.” Dr R Balasudha, a paramedic at the PHC in the Narshapuram block under which Anjupaka village falls, adds: “Sarita was not dead when she was brought to the PHC. She did not consume any poison. She was having severe bouts of epileptic attacks and was very, very sick.”
Sarita’s hapless parents learned of a similar death on August 30 last year in Yerragattu village, 60 km from Bhadrachalam. Another 13-year-old, Sodi Sayamma, had died there, with doctors calling it a suicide. But Sayamma’s parents, also farm labourers, said their daughter had not consumed poison or hanged herself. In both cases, the PHCS confirmed the girls had not consumed poison and referred the cases to the Bhadrachalam area hospital. Interestingly, the PHCs ¬ one in Gowrideviteta block covering Yerragattu village and another in Narshapuram block ¬ were responsible for administering the vaccine for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in these villages.
The HPV, which is transmitted sexually, is one of the many known causes of cervical cancer. Gardasil, the commercially licensed HPV vaccine produced by Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), an affiliate of US-based pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co Inc, is supposed to prevent cervical cancer when administered to pre-puberty girls. The Indian unit of the Seattle-based PATH, one of the world’s largest healthcare NGOs, began the HPV vaccination drive on July 9 last year as a demonstration project in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Part of the goal was to vaccinate 14,000 girls in Khammam district ¬ a large percentage of them from poor, tribal families ¬ with three doses of Gardasil. The three zones selected in the district were Thirumalayapalem (urban), Kothagudem (rural) and Bhadrachalam (tribal).
LETHAL DOSE? Maramma’s daughter Sayamma died within seven weeks of being vaccinated (KUNAL MAJUMDER)
BUT THE drive raises serious ethical questions. Did the producers of this drug and their field partners declare the full range of possible side-effects? Did the parents of these minors give “informed” consent? What is the criterion on which the target population for the vaccine was selected? And are there sufficient screening mechanisms in place to report and check on any “adverse events” or side-effects?
Sources in Hyderabad say that D Nagender, the Andhra Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister, worked closely with PATH and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on the project. The ministry says the blocks were chosen because of high incidence of cervical cancer in the region. But this claim is disputed by many. “There is no document available to prove this. It is a blatant lie,” says NB Sarojini of the Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, which, along with 80 other health networks and medical practitioners, sent a memorandum last October to the health ministry on the issue.
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COUNTERPOINT
REPRESENTATIVES OF PATH, AN NGO, RESPOND TO QUESTIONS ON THE CERVICAL CANCER VACCINATION DRIVE
‘IT IS AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY TO COLLECT DATA’
What is the aim of the HPV vaccine drive?
The vaccination will prevent girls aged between 10 and 14 years from getting the infection when they grow up and attain the age when cancer of the cervix occurs. The PATH-ICMR Postlicensure Observational Study of HPV vaccination in Khammam and Vadodara is not a clinical trial. The vaccine used in the study has already been licensed by the Indian Government.
What are the benefits of introducing an expensive vaccine like Gardasil in India?
The study is conducted to generate critical data and experience for evidence-based decision-making about public sector immunisation programmes as part of a broader cancer-of-thecervix prevention and control strategy. Similar studies are being conducted in Peru, Uganda and Vietnam. This is to simply keep India prepared for the day when these vaccines become affordable.
Why are you experimenting with the HPV vaccine in rural areas?
Three blocks of Khammam and Vadodara have been selected to reach out to all areas that reflect the population in the state. The state governments and Regional Cancer Centres selected the districts on the basis of distribution of cervix cancer cases.
What was PATH’s role?
The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are conducting the demonstration project in the state with technical assistance from PATH and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The vaccine producers ¬ Merck (MSD) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) ¬ have donated vaccines for the project.
Is PATH aware of the unproven nature of the HPV vaccine?
These vaccines are already available in the markets in India and many other countries. These are not experimental products; they are approved, commercial products.
In Khammam, TEHELKA came across two deaths caused by the Gardasil vaccine.
Similar to all other vaccinations, so also for HPV vaccinations, all Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) for HPV vaccinations are investigated and reported through a process set up by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
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PATH claims the side-effects associated with the vaccine are negligible ¬ nothing more than a “pain in the arm after a jab”. However, organisations like the US-based Judicial Watch and the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), a US government body, list a range of potential side-effects associated with the Gardasil vaccine. Among them are blood clots, auto-immune disorders, seizures, epileptic fits and severe allergies.
In Khammam, besides Sayamma and Sarita’s deaths, around 120 students developed complications after the vaccination ¬ ranging from epileptic fits, allergies, diarrhoea, dizziness and nausea. News of this first began to emerge in small reports on TV 9, a regional news channel. Dr R Balasudha, a medical officer at the Narshapuram PHC, confirms this. This PHC was one of the four targeted for the drive in Bhadrachalam block from July 16, 2009 to February 28, 2010. Dr Shekhar, associated with the Nallipaka PHC, who had a target of 2,400 children but could manage only 1,800 till February 27, adds: “Many developed complications, but we don’t know if they turned serious since we aren’t in touch with the girls.”
the controversial Glaxo SmithKline campaign that was banned by the Health Ministry
“This is a very serious cover-up,” says CPM leader Brinda Karat, who plans to raise the issue in Parliament. “India needs to be careful about the side-effects of these vaccines and a detailed investigation should be done by the Health Ministry as to why these tribal and semi-literate girls were picked for such a drive. It is a wrong notion, nurtured by many, that tribal girls are more sexually active and hence should be targeted for such drives,” says Karat, who came to know about the matter recently through the Andhra Pradesh unit of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA).
NUMBERS GAME NGO PATH says 32,000 girls in the 10-14 age group will be vaccinated in Khamman during the first phase
IMMUNE? District Immunity Officer Dr B Jaikumar was responsible for the vaccination of 14,000 girls in Khammam district (KUNAL MAJUMDER)
PATH, which asserts that it has followed every international guideline in conducting the demonstration project, however, seems to be trying hard to limit the damage caused by the deaths and the disclosures of side-effects. “We were only commissioned by the Welfare Department of the Andhra Pradesh Government and were not involved in physically administering the vaccine. We were the technical partner and just went along with the state government team,” says a top PATH official, without disclosing the amount the organisation received to implement the demonstration project, titled the PATH-ICMR Post-licensure Observational Study of HPV vaccination funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“If there is a problem with the vaccine, it is for MSD to respond, not us,” says the PATH official, adding that the NGO plans to administer the vaccine to 18,000 more girls in Khammam this year, to help determine if this vaccine can be included in the National Vaccination Scheme. “We firmly believe this is the least risky vaccine available to prevent cervical cancer and we want to help make it available to the poorest sections of our society. We are bound by confidentiality clauses and cannot reveal any details about any ‘adverse events’. All we can say is that we are monitoring it very closely and there is nothing to be concerned about,” says another PATH representative. “Reporting such incidents out of context will jeopardise this entire public health programme.”
Shockingly, however, Dr B Jaikumar, the District Immunity Officer of Khammam and the man responsible for the drive there, says he has no idea why the region was selected. He does not have any statistics regarding major cancer incidence in the area, nor do he or his team have any means to check the effectiveness of the vaccine or measure its afteraffects. So why was the vaccine administered? “I am not aware of the reasons,” says Jaikumar. “The Commissioner of Family Welfare said we have to do it here.” Ask him if his district was being used as a human laboratory, and he replies, “The tests have been done in the international market.” But Jaikumar himself has not read any international medical literature on the vaccine: It is for the state government to read such stuff, not him, he says.
THE BIG, GLOBAL CLAMOUR OVER HPV VACCINE
‘Reports are coming in on a daily basis of young girls and women affected by adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine’
AMERICAN CHRONICLE, Feb 27, 2010
‘We will not know for many more years whether HPV vaccination will prevent cancer or, in the worst case, do harm’
THE LANCET, Feb 20, 2010
‘An investigation has been launched after a 14-year-old girl died upon receiving a cervical cancer vaccination’ THE GUARDIAN, Sept 29, 2009
‘Gardasil has been linked to 32 deaths and shows higher incidences of fainting and blood clots than other vaccines’ ABC NEWS, Aug 19, 2009
‘Young women given the vaccine are up to 26 times more likely to have lifethreatening allergic reactions’ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, Sept 7, 2008
‘Ad campaigns for the vaccine have created a false sense of risk by shifting bet ween the common virus and cancer’ TODAY’S VANCOUVER WOMAN
The smokescreen of “international tests” is a disturbing one. It is hardly a surprise that global manufacturers of cervical cancer vaccines are betting big on India. According to the World Health Organisation, cervical cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in India. It kills eight women every hour. In fact, the WHO estimates that of the 130 lakh women annually diagnosed with cancer in the country, over 74,000 die of cervical cancer. This accounts for more than a quarter of worldwide deaths due to cervical cancer ¬ which is globally the second-most common cancer after breast cancer. And Indian women have a 2.5 percent lifetime risk of getting cervical cancer, double the worldwide figure of 1.3 percent.
THE INDIAN cervical cancer market, therefore, which accounts for a quarter of the $10 billion world market, is far too big to be ignored by global drug makers. Two of the biggest players in India are MSD, the Indian subsidiary of Merck, and Glaxo SmithKline which sells the HPV vaccine under the brand name Cervarix. By all accounts, a tough battle for market share looms. (One of the PATH-ICMR study’s goals is to compute what the HPV vaccine will cost the national exchequer if it were to be included in India’s public health programme.)
FATAL SHOT (above) Nageshwara and Venkatamma grieve for their daughter Sarita (below) (KUNAL MAJUMDER)
Alarmingly for India then, the Gardasil vaccine is imputed to have caused 61 deaths in the US from June 2006 onwards, prompting a big media backlash against Merck ( see box ). Among cases listed as Gardasil-linked deaths by the VAERS, a US government body, an 11-year-old girl vaccinated in May 2007 with a dose of Gardasil died three days later due to a severe allergic reaction. In another case, a 12-year-old girl with no reported medical problems died in her sleep of unknown causes on October 6, 2007, three weeks after receiving a Gardasil shot. In yet another case, a 20-year-old woman, again with no medical history, who was vaccinated on April 1, 2008, died four days later.
In the UK, where Cervarix is administered, the first death was reported in September 2009. Natalie Morton, 14, died after the vaccine jab. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) also mentions deaths in Germany and Austria that are allegedly linked to Gardasil jabs. Since its approval in 2006, Gardasil has been blamed for more than 70 deaths and thousands of reports of adverse reactions across the US and Europe. Importantly, in a written communiqué to TEHELKA ( see box ), Merck itself admits, “As of September 1, 2009, there have been 15,037 VAERS reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination. Of these, 93 percent were classified as reports of non-serious events, and seven percent as serious events.”
While these deaths may be contested, or only ambiguously linked to Gardasil, it is difficult to overlook the fact that the VAERS has reported thousands of adverse events in the US following HPV vaccination since 2006 ¬ a fact corroborated by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Among these adverse events are listed neurological disorders affecting voluntary muscle activities, including speaking, walking, breathing; immune system malfunctions; and inflammation of the pancreas.
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COUNTERPOINT
DR SWASHRAYA SHAH, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MSD INDIA, ATTEMPTS TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THE GARDASIL VACCINE
‘NO VACCINE OR MEDICINE IS WITHOUT RISK’
DR SWASHRAYA SHAH, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MSD INDIA, ATTEMPTS TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THE GARDASIL VACCINE
What was the nature of agreement between PATH and Merck?
PATH is conducting a demonstration project along with the Indian Council of Medical Research in India. MSD India’s (Merck) commitment is to provide vaccines for the project in Andhra Pradesh.
Did Merck keep silent about the unproven nature of the HPV vaccine?
Gardasil is the result of over 10 years of research and development. As part of the rigorous scientific vaccine clinical development programme, clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of the vaccine have included more than 25,000 women from 33 countries. While no vaccine
or medicine is completely without risk, leading international health organisations throughout the world have reviewed all of the safety information available to them about Gardasil and continue to recommend its use.
In Khammam, TEHELKA came across two vaccine-linked deaths…
As part of the rigorous scientific vaccine clinical development programme, clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of the vaccine have included more than 25,000 women from 33 countries across the world. The Federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in the US reported as of September 1, 2009, that there had been 15,037 adverse events following Gardasil vaccination. Of these, 93 per cent were classified as non-serious events and seven per cent as serious events.
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ONE COULD concede that for those who back Gardasil, these may seem small numbers in the cost-benefit ratio. Of 40 million women administered the HPV vaccine globally, how should one view 70 ambiguously linked deaths or over 15,000 adverse events, of which an average of 7 to 10 percent are deemed serious? The answer loops back to fair disclosure of risk, informed consent and sufficient screening mechanisms.
“The West became aware of the dangers of the HPV vaccine only because of its stringent screening systems, where the after-effects of the drug were routinely monitored. But India lacks this system,” says Dr Rukmani Rao of the Hyderabad-based Gramya Resource Centre for Women.
PLANNED MOVE Welldesigned cards invited tribals and non-tribal girls for the vaccination drive in Andhra Pradesh
“I don’t understand why they selected Khammam for this vaccine. Why couldn’t they experiment in Delhi or Hyderabad?” asks SVRV Prasad, coordinator with ASDS, an NGO working with tribal-related development work in the region. P Jyoti, state president of the All India Democratic Women Association in Andhra Pradesh, agrees: “There are more girls in greater Hyderabad. Why Khammam? It raises a lot of suspicion. They are using it on poor girls who lack education and do not have proper knowledge of the vaccine and its reactions,” she says.
There are other charges. Though PATH claims the vaccine is only effective if administered to pre-puberty girls, other experts say the age group selected for administering the vaccine was wrong. “Cervical cancer only affects the uterus of middle-aged women, so why are we vaccinating girls whose sexual organs are still developing?” asks Dr S Prabhakar, a physician who has worked in the tribal areas of Bhadrachalam for nearly a decade.
I DON’T KNOW WHY THE HPV VACCINE IS BEING INTRODUCED HERE. WE DID WHAT THE COMMISSIONER OF FAMILY WELFARE TOLD US – DR B JAIKUMAR, District Immunity Officer, Khammam
OTHER KEY questions involve efficacy and expense. Do the HPV vaccines cover all kinds of cervical cancer? Can the government afford such an expensive vaccine? The answers look pretty dismal. The market cost of Gardasil is Rs 2,000 per jab: three jabs would cost Rs 6,000. For many like Rao, the entire drive is a hoax. “Even after paying Rs 6,000 for a vaccine, one has to still go for cervical cancer screening. How many of these parents or girls know that it is much cheaper to have oneself screened than to spend so much on a vaccine that may or may not prevent cervical cancer? What place can such a vaccine have in a country where the per capita annual public health expenditure is a mere $10?” asks she.
The absence of an umbrella cover under the HPV vaccine is a key point. Dr Gopal Dabade, a member of the New Delhi-based All India Drug Action Network, says the efficacy of HPV vaccines remain highly unproven. The current Gardasil vaccine prevents infections arising out of two of the HPV subtypes (16 and 18) that may cause cervical cancer and also HPV subtypes (6 and 11) that can lead to genital warts. It is true that subtypes 16 and 18 account for 70 percent cases of cervical cancer globally. “But there are several other causes for cervical cancer than HPV. It can happen through multiple sex partners and unhygienic conditions. Causes for cervical cancer differ from region to region,” says Dabade. Karat agrees. “I’m concerned that they are promoting the vaccine as a solution to cervical cancer. There is a complete lack of transparency. HPV is only one particular virus that causes cervical cancer ¬ what about the rest?”
UNITED STATES
Over 15,000 adverse reactions and 61 deaths related to HPV vaccine have been reported to the authorities
UNITED KINGDOM
The first death, of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Coventry, was reported in September 2009
These criticisms are obviously starting to have impact. A high-profile print ad campaign for the cervical cancer vaccine was launched last year by Glaxo, which claimed its vaccine was a cure-all. Merck was to follow with its own campaign. However, four months into the campaign, the Drug Controllers’ Office, that works directly under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, issued a notice to Glaxo to withdraw its campaign.
As ever, the lack of transparency in India is one of the biggest hurdles. Highly placed sources say that once the order came from the Andhra Pradesh Family Welfare Department, consent letters went out to parents of thousands of girls, many of them staying in government hostels. The note claimed that the vaccine, offered free by Merck in Khammam and Glaxo SmithKline in Vadodara, Gujarat, would prevent HPV infection. But it failed to mention the full range of the vaccine’s numerous side-effects. The students were told to get their parents’ signature on the specially printed literature ¬ TEHELKA has a copy ¬ that peculiarly reads: “If you do not take this vaccine, please do not worry. You will not be punished in any way.” For many girls in the government schools and their parents, it was a sign to fall in line.
THERE IS NO DOCUMENT TO PROVE THAT KHAMMAM HAS A HIGH RATE OF CERVICAL CANCER. THIS IS A BLATANT LIE – NB SAROJINI, Sama Resource Group for Women and Health
It would be wrong to presume, however, that the vaccination drive will be limited to only these two districts. A number of healthcare NGOs are checking out potential zones for more such drives in rural India. Consider the case of the nondescript village of Gadraul, 145 km from the Bihar capital, Patna. A team of paramedics descended on the village in Buxar district in December last and conducted a 45-minute workshop on the benefits of cervical cancer vaccines. Given the rosy picture painted, no one in the gullible audience thought to ask any questions. The team is now slated to return in May.
THERE HAVE BEEN 15,037 ADVERSE EVENTS LINKED WITH GARDASIL VACCINE IN THE US, ADMITS MERCK
“The myth in rural Bihar is that vaccines are the safest mode of prevention from any disease,” says Dr Bharat Singh of the Patna Medical College and Hospital. “Why blame just Bihar, very few Indian cities would have any definitive screening systems (that would check the after-effects of the drug).”
INFORMED VOICE Nobel Laureate Harald zur Hausen says the HPV vaccine requires booster doses
Officials of the Union Health Ministry like Health Secretary K Sujatha Rao say there is no chance of this expensive vaccine being included in the National Immunisation Programme. In 2008, her predecessor Naresh Dayal had taken a similar line.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) says two women died after being administered the Gardasil vaccine. The deaths occurred in Germany and Austria
AUSTRALIA
Rate of severe allergic reactions after Gardasil injection reported as 2.6 per 100,000 doses
But that the government has little real information about the vaccine is clearly evident. At a press interaction two weeks ago, Dr VM Katoch, the director general of Indian Council of Medical Research, said, “In India, there are seven to eight types of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, we do not have any real data. Hence, we do not know the magnitude of the pockets. We just have patchy information from some hospitals. So how much the vaccine is going to benefit a particular person, we do not know.” Repeated attempts to elicit responses from the Union Health Ministry proved futile.
“This is what I was hinting at. The demonstration project in India is nothing but pushing gullible girls as guinea pigs,” says Dr Rao. She finds support from Dr Y Madhavi of the Delhi-based National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies, who points to the lack of conclusive data regarding the length of immunological protection that the vaccine confers against HPV subtypes 16 and 18. Studies so far have shown the vaccine offers protection only for five years. “Since the long-term efficacy of and protection by the vaccine is unknown we cannot claim that even 60-70 per cent protection will be achieved,” she says.
WE DON’T HAVE ANY REAL DATA. WE HAVE SOME PATCHY FIGURES FROM HOSPITALS. SO WE DON’T KNOW ITS REAL BENEFITS – DR VM KATOCH, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
IF THE immunological protection lasts for only five years, is there a requirement for a booster? If booster doses are needed, and it is not known how frequently, what will be the impact of the booster doses on the safety of the vaccine? Who is to pay for the booster doses?
Harald zur Hausen, who won the 2008 Nobel Medicine prize for discovering that the HPV causes cervical cancer, says that even the best-case scenario of HPV vaccination will require booster doses. In an article published in the medical journal, The Lancet, on February 20 this year, Eric J Suba and Stephen S Raab on behalf of the Viet/American Cervical Cancer Prevention Project, said developing countries should allocate their limited resources to cervical screening, rather than HPV vaccination, until it is proven that HPV vaccines are effective for cervical cancer prevention. Did anyone in India read the article, asks Sarojini.
It seems no one did. Not even those who started the much-hyped vaccination programme.
(With field reports from Khammam, Hyderabad, Buxar (Bihar) and New Delhi)
WRITERS’ EMAIL:SHANTANU GUHA RAY < shantanu@tehelka.com >
and KUNAL MAJUMDER < kunal@tehelka.com >
http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/content/view/2423/59/
GATES STEERS CLEAR OF HPV VACCINE ROW
Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, May 15, 2010
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Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday denied knowledge of the controversy over alleged violations of ethics during clinical trials of HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine conducted by a U.S.-based non-governmental organisation for a pharmaceutical company.
Bill and Melinda Gates had funded PATH, that conducted the ‘trial for a pharmaceutical company in the backwards districts of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that had approved the clinical trials asked the State governments to stop any further trials after the matter was brought to their notice.
Attempting to steer clear of the issue, Mr. Gates told a group of journalists here that HPV had been approved for private marketing in the U.S. and many other countries were using it. However, while insisting that he did not have any knowledge of the issue, Mr. Gates asked the journalists they were aware of the condition of cervical cancer patients. “You should visit a hospital where women with cervical cancer are treated. It is a bad disease,” he said.
High point
Talking on a wide range of issues, primarily revolving around health, Mr. Gates said the high point of his visit to India was his interaction with the women’s groups in U.P. and Bihar.
“You hear their stories and see their energy levels. You ask them what is the first vaccine for a child, they will say mother’s milk within one hour of birth. I had not heard of this but it is scientific as the milk has lots of antibodies,” he said.
Low-cost vaccines
On his visit to Amethi with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and to Bihar, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with the State government, Mr. Gates said the focus of the Foundation would, however, continue to be on healthcare, particularly low-cost vaccines to prevent millions of child deaths because of diarrhoea, measles, and Japanese encephalitis, among others, that presented a high burden of diseases.
Appreciating India’s performance in eradicating polio, Mr. Gates said that job turned out tougher than expected but pointed out that this year should be a good year for polio. The next eight months would show how the country performed in eradicating the virus in the 107 blocks in Western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where incidences were still reported.
Amused at the popularity of mobile phones in rural areas, Mr. Gates said he was impressed with the way immunisation coverage had increased from 11 per cent to 50-60 per cent in a few years in Bihar.
The modes of payment under the Janani Suraksha Yojana and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, too, left a positive impression on him.
Keywords: HPV clinical trials, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article430367.ece
GATES-SUPPORTED FOUNDATION BACKS WORLDWIDE HPV VACCINATION
Posted on: Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 16:14 CDT
Vaccination funding by an international partnership said on Wednesday that it would expand its scope beyond vaccinations for children in poor countries and start investing in vaccines aimed at adult women.
The board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) endorsed in Geneva a new $3.5 billion vaccine investment plan specifying diseases it will tackle from 2009 to 2020.
The GAVI is backed by the Gates Foundation.
GAVI Executive Secretary Julian Lob-Levyt said the strategy would attack some of the world’s major killers and offer a new challenge to provide good health to the world’s most vulnerable people.
Among the seven priority investments approved by the board were a vaccine to immunize women against the human papilloma virus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, and one to prevent miscarriages or birth defects caused by rubella virus.
Merck & Co and GlaxoSmithKline have both recently introduced rival HPV vaccines, called Gardasil and Cervarix, that are seen by industry analysts as multi-billion-dollar sellers but are expensive for developing countries.
According to a draft on GAVI’s new spending strategy, vaccines are prioritized to protect children in impoverished nations against cholera, typhoid, rabies, meningitis A and Japanese encephalitis.
“The portfolio … has the potential to avert approximately 2 million deaths across different age groups and all GAVI countries within 10 years,” according to the Geneva-based group, which supports immunizations in more than 70 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
GAVI’s report to the board, whose members include the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank and vaccine makers, said with HPV and rubella vaccines, GAVI would have an opportunity to protect vulnerable women against a serious and fatal disease and congenital anomalies of their newborns.
Nearly 2.5 million child deaths a year are thought to be prevented by vaccination programs GAVI already supports for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and measles.
Such campaigns, as well as those for hepatitis B, yellow fever, pneumococcal disease and rotavirus, will continue alongside the new investments.
GAVI is a private-public partnership launched in 2000. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave it $1.5 billion, are major backers, along with governments including Britain, France, Norway, South Africa and Brazil.
Pharmaceutical companies like Crucell, Novartis, Sanofi Pasteur and Wyeth are among the major vaccine makers that GAVI supports through market commitments and other programs.
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Bill Gates explains the importance of the HPV vaccine to women in developing countries
https://www.gavi.org/bill-gates-explains-importance-hpv-vaccine-women-developing-countries
Bill Gates explains the importance of the HPV vaccine to women in developing countries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=eDcLJIecnZ0&feature=emb_logo
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1450272/gatessupported_foundation_backs_worldwide_hpv_vaccination/
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