New England Journal of Medicine claims that only about 10% of drug induced side effects are reported
OTTAWA — Critics say that the reasons to avoid using the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, continue to pile up in the form of thousands of instances of severe side effects, including numerous deaths.
In response to the mounting evidence that the vaccine may not be safe for widespread use, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is slated to release a study in October that will attempt to determine the validity of these reports.
Judicial Watch, a public interest group, has closely monitored Gardasil since it was released by creator Merck in 2006, periodically detailing statistics on the numerous side effects users have experienced. The most recent report alleges that the drug has been responsible for 21 deaths and 9,749 adverse reactions, including 78 outbreaks of genital warts and 10 miscarriages.
As daunting as these current statistics are, it seems that even they may be gravely underestimating the health risks associated with using Gardasil. A study by the New England Journal of Medicine claims that only about 10% of drug induced side effects are reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
Furthermore, FiercePharma.com claims that experts have criticized the actual effectiveness of the cervical cancer vaccine, saying Merck has exaggerated the drug’s usefulness.
Despite the alleged dangers of using Garasil and concerns about its actual medical success, Merck is continuing to push the drug into state mandatory vaccine lists and schools.
http://brownpelicanla.com/index.php/all/2008/08/15/hpv_vaccine_causes_21_deaths_and_countin
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage -
Gardasil – 18 Dead, Thousands Suffer Complications
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070809.html
Why Medical Authorities Cannot be Trusted on Gardasil HPV Vaccine By Gwen Landolt
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121905.html
Ontario Catholic School Board Rejects HPV Vaccine on School Premises
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101806.html
Controversial HPV Vaccine Causing One Death Per Month: FDA Report
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070316.html
hoverfrog Said:
on October 17, 2008 at 10:26 am
I’d like to point out something that you might not be aware of. Whenever a vaccine is administered it is the legal responsibility of the administering authority to report any medical issues that occur after the event. These can then be investigated to determine if there is a connection between the drug and the medical issue and not just a coincidental event.
Someone falling dead from a brain aneurysm may or may not be related to the vaccine that they had that morning. The popular press always seems to report the two events are related where there is only a correlation and not a causation. Far from the drug being responsible for 10 deaths the fact is that 10 deaths occurred after receiving the vaccine. The victims may well have fallen down the stairs.
Regardless of that there is still the fact that more lives are likely to be saved as a result of the vaccine than could ever be attributed to deaths related to it. If 10 people were in fact killed (which I don’t believe) as a direct result of the vaccine rather than a coincidence in timing then how many hundreds will still survive cervical cancer as a result of the immunisation?
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 17, 2008 at 10:36 am
I am very well aware of medical protocols, but trust me, I have spoken to many people whose daughters are sick and they are CONVINCED that it is the vaccine. You tell these parents that they are wrong, okay??? As for saving people’s lives, you do realize that there are women that develop cervical cancer without HPV, correct? All it takes is a bit of research.
“Although nearly all cervical cancers are related to HPV, most genital HPV infections do not cause cervical cancer.”
From:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_FAQ_HPV_Vaccines.asp
Critical thinking is always good. You cannot always trust the medical establishment and/or the government. There have been many instances where things have been “approved” and it turned out they were deadly. Simple, eh??
hoverfrog Said:
on October 17, 2008 at 11:59 am
They may be convinced but where is the evidence? I’m not saying that they are wrong only that they may be incorrectly attributing illness as side effects or seeing mild side effects as much worse than they actually are. That is, after all, why any illness after the vaccination is reported. Is it not?
If a sexually active woman does not have HPV then they are in the minority. It is almost ubiquitous. You are quite correct that it does not cause all cancers or that everyone who is exposed gets cancer. However there are some people who do and the vaccine has the potential to save their lives.
I have a 13 year old daughter due to receive the vaccine early next year. Above all I wish her to be safe. That means that I ensured that she got the MMR vaccine when she was a baby, that she got the polio vaccine, that she will get the BCG vaccine and that she will get the HPV vaccine. If she feels a bit ill for a day or two I say that this is a small price to pay for her life twenty or thirty years from now.
The evidence does not show that the vaccine is deadly to anyone. It shows that a few people have had some mild side effects. I wish to see accurate information and not scare mongering on this issue so that I can make an informed decision.
The fact that some drugs have had negative, even deadly side effects does not mean that this one will. Saying so is disingenuous.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 17, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I guess these doctors are guilty of “scare-mongering”:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/19/1991
Not deadly to “ANYONE”??? What about these deaths…or do you attribute the deaths to coincidence??? The FDA itself is in the process of investigating these deaths…even they admit that they don’t know, so what makes you so sure???
Don’t accuse me, or others that are concerned, of scare-mongering. Some of us are smarter than that. I am offering INFORMATION. What people opt to do with that is up to them, correct???
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=68454
gurnage Said:
on October 19, 2008 at 9:45 pm
There is simply not enough long-term research to determine if the Gardasil vaccine is safe for our daughters. Rather than risk our daughters’ health and as the news services increasingly report on Gardasil’s unknown side effects, we should wait until proper testing and research data is available. Why is there such a push to make this vaccine mandatory? Big Pharma and the resulting profits is the answer. It is awful when you consider the news of healthy, athletic teen girls who are having horrendous health problems after receiving the Gardasil vaccine. What needs to happen to make this all stop?
http://gurnage.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/say-no-to-gardasil-protect-our-daughters-from-this-merck-moneymaker/
blue soup Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Funny how you’ll only allow comments that support your own argument. You don’t believe in constructive debate, you don’t believe in presenting the facts.
Scared that you’ll actually be proven wrong? I mean, you do write utter nonsense after all!
You are a blinkered, one-sided, ill-educated bigot.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Scared of what now? There are plenty of comments that I don’t agree with…what are you talking about??
Your compliments mean a lot to me, thank you
blue soup Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:12 pm
So that’s why you have deleted two comments refuting your points. Yeah, freedom of speech.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I deleted nothing. Nice try, though.
blue soup Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Utter crap. I was following this thread and my comment. You deleted comments by both myself and Hoverfrog.
Let’s hope you never get cervical cancer.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Believe what you wish, it is your opinion. You can’t prove it, nor can I.
MaryEllen Baker Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Cervical cancer is simply not the problem Merck would have people believe. In the United States 3700 women die each year from this disease (compared to 300,000 for heart disease), many of these deaths could have been prevented with early detection from a regular yearly pap smear, it is a slow growing , treatable form of cancer. I am 53 years old and have never personally known anyone with the disease yet have had many friends and family members with other forms of cancer. The average age that it is diagnosed is 48 and and the long term effectiveness of the vaccine has not even been determined. If given to young girls it may not even be effective by the time it is needed. As the mother of a previously healthy young woman who developed Rheumatoid Arthritis and other health issues after receiving this vaccine I have spent alot of time researching it and I’m convinced it’s at best unnecessary and at worst dangerous. The likely culprit is the 225 mcg of Aluminum in the vaccine. THe dangers of aluminum in vaccines has been known for many years but it continues to be used as it stimulates the immune system as your body reacts to the toxic invasion. It is widely suspected that aluminum in the Anthrax vaccine caused health problems in veterans from the 1st Gulf war.
Please see the following Press release from the National Vaccine Information Center. This is a part of the report the whole thing can be read on their web site.
for immediate release
June 27, 2006
MERCK’S GARDASIL VACCINE NOT PROVEN SAFE FOR LITTLE GIRLS
National Vaccine Information Center Criticizes
FDA for Fast Tracking Licensure
Washington, D.C. – The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is calling on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to just say “no” on June 29 to recommending “universal use” of Merck’s Gardasil vaccine in all pre-adolescent girls. NVIC maintains that Merck’s clinical trials did not prove the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts is safe to give to young girls.
“Merck and the FDA have not been completely honest with the people about the pre-licensure clinical trials,” said NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher. “Merck’s pre and post-licensure marketing strategy has positioned mass use of this vaccine by pre-teens as a morality play in order to avoid talking about the flawed science they used to get it licensed. This is not just about teenagers having sex, it is also about whether Gardasil has been proven safe and effective for little girls.”
The FDA allowed Merck to use a potentially reactive aluminum containing placebo as a control for most trial participants, rather than a non-reactive saline solution placebo.[1] A reactive placebo can artificially increase the appearance of safety of an experimental drug or vaccine in a clinical trial. Gardasil contains 225 mcg of aluminum and, although aluminum adjuvants have been used in vaccines for decades, they were never tested for safety in clinical trials. Merck and the FDA did not disclose how much aluminum was in the placebo.[2]
Animal and human studies have shown that aluminum can cause nerve cell death [3] and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain, [4 5] as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue. [6 7] Nearly 90 percent of Gardasil recipients and 85 percent of aluminum placebo recipients followed-up for safety reported one or more adverse events within 15 days of vaccination, particularly at the injection site.[8] Pain and swelling at injection site occurred in approximately 83 percent of Gardasil and 73 percent of aluminum placebo recipients. About 60 percent of those who got Gardasil or the aluminum placebo had systemic adverse events including headache, fever, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia. [9 10] Gardasil recipients had more serious adverse events such as headache, gastroenteritis, appendicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, asthma, bronchospasm and arthritis.
Any form of cancer is terrible and I would not trivialize the experience of anyone who has suffered from it. However, needlessly subjecting an entire generation of young women to a vaccine that may not (most likely not) even be of use to them is irresponsible. I would advise any mother thinking of this not to do it because if it makes your child have a lifelong illness as a result you’ll regret it till the day you die.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Instead of bothering to refute the individuals who disagree with this vaccine, they choose to call names. The very definition of tartuffery.
anarchore Said:
on October 22, 2008 at 8:55 pm
People still think that the government is looking out for their good, when the reverse is true. Fools like these caution that you will fall ill if you don’t take the vaccine, failing to consider that pharmaceutical industry money is more of a motivator in this latest campaign to mass-vaccinate girls, than a genuine concern for their health. Think about it, a very profitable vaccine is foisted on people with TV ads to dramatize it. How do people not see through government scams? They probably still think fluoride in water supplies is good for dental health.
blue soup Said:
on October 23, 2008 at 3:09 am
“Instead of bothering to refute the individuals who disagree with this vaccine, they choose to call names. The very definition of tartuffery.”
You deleted two comments that refuted your points – neither of them calling you names – one from myself and one from Hoverfrog, who first directed me here. You don;t even allow a balanced discussion, whipping off comments that you don’t like.
You’ll be saying that MMR causes autism next and ignoring evidence that blew that out of the water.
Still, it’s your blog, you can write as much nonsense as you like.
cynicalmystic Said:
on October 23, 2008 at 10:59 am
Yet you still refuse to address the points of several individuals. Ad hominem attacks are the last refuge of the damned.
Jacques Said:
on October 23, 2008 at 11:58 am
There are so many brainwashed idiots out there! Heidi is absolutely right on this, this vaccine is not proven, too new. Do I need to bring up Merck’s Vioxx mess? Do you people ever think for yourselves, or are you simply tools for Merck?
hoverfrog Said:
on October 24, 2008 at 2:05 am
CynicalMystic asked about the recorded deaths. As previously mentioned all deaths following a vaccine are recorded in order for the deaths to be investigated to determine IF the vaccine is connected with the death. No such causal relationship has been established.
I’ve left other comments. Can you check your spam filter please?
said that there wasn’t enough long term research to tell if the vaccine was effective. By that count there cannot be enough long term research to see if the vaccine is ineffective or harmful either. Tests do show that the administration of vaccines severely limits the harmful effects of HPV. That is a fact.
hoverfrog Said:
on October 24, 2008 at 5:44 am
MaryEllen Baker said that “only” 3700 women died from cervical cancer each year. This is pretty accurate and I wouldn’t quibble about a few hundred either way. The death rate has declined by 74% between 1955 and 1992 and by about 4% each year largely due to pap tests. What you don’t mention is the tens of thousands of women who receive often invasive medical treatments that are both painful and can lead to infertility and ongoing pain. One of the treatments for this form of cancer is an hysterectomy. Perhaps this is not such an issue for women in their 50s who have had children but certainly something that would change the life of a young woman in her 20s or 30s.
I am 37 years old and personally know three women directly effected by this form of cancer and have indirect contact with many more. At 53 you are fortunate not to have had any contact with it. I hope this remains the case.
It is true that the vaccine can have medical side effects and these shouldn’t be ignored. It is fortunate that the side effects are typically short term and rare. Where they do have a longer term impact or harsher effects then these need to be investigated. No-one is saying that we shouldn’t approach the giving of vaccines from all angles, just that the giving of one side of the issue is disingenuous. The side effects are typically mild and temporary and aren’t even experienced by the majority of people.
hoverfrog Said:
on October 24, 2008 at 5:48 am
Anarchore said;
That sounds like a consipiracy theory. The government is made up of people who are voted to represent our views. I don’t doubt that a few are corrupt, greedy or misguided but largely they seek to do the jobs they are voted in for to the best of their ability. It’s not as if they have their morals removed when they cast their first vote.
anarchore Said:
on October 25, 2008 at 11:34 pm
You’re right, with a slight modification: “The government is made up of people who are vetted to represent corporatism.”
I believe until we can implement a better, non-authoritarian economic and social order, politicians and their families should live a life of poverty. They should be provided for, but not allowed to own property, shares, even after they leave office. Watch the rats flee if that ever comes to be. Read on to see why.
The mainstream corporate/Zio-media decides who is important enough to be in debates, and the Bilderberg-vetted candidates are then “voted on” and all the dramas of the candidates and the human tension of these personalities going through their political ‘careers’, in the game of Political Survivor. Wow looks like Dion might get voted off the island.
These ambitious people are promised lavish riches to play along with the club, and like a perverse reverse evolution the worst of the bunch are the choices we are given.
That is why we get scumbags selling out our countries and playing with our lives on the stock market, and selling out children’s health on dangerous vaccines.
This profit-taking is for the children’s health you see, the billions in profit for the pharmaceutical industry of this government-endorsed campaign is just a side issue, you see.
Cynthia Janak Said:
on November 13, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Hi, I have been writing about Gardasil since Feb of 2007 and the side effects of this vaccine are real. I am in personal contact with many families affected by this vaccine. Many are disabled now and in constant pain. You are seeing once very active, athletic girls being affected and becoming disabled. Go to my website and find out for yourself. http://www.cynthiajanak.com . I have a page devoted to Gardasil.
I want to give you the latest numbers on those affected.
11939 reports to VAERS
32 dead
Keep up the good fight Heidi. There are many out there that are doing what you are and that is spreading the truth.
hoverfrog Said:
on November 14, 2008 at 9:13 am
How many deaths have been directly attributed to Gardasil? Is it none? I think it is.
Of the 24 deaths in the clinical trial (of more that 25 thousand women) seven of them are from car accidents and four drug overdoses or suicide.
There are more deaths each year from people leaving pins in shirts.
How many women die each year from cervical cancer? 471,000 are diagnosed each year and 274,000 die worldwide. It is the fifth biggest killer in women. Source cervicalcancer.org.
Even if 32 women were killed by the vaccine (which does not seem to be the case at all) that does not compare to saving hundreds of thousands of women.
Obviously Big Pharma is evil and wants to risk the lives of millions of women so that their next of kin can sue them. Yeah, because they never do any sort of risk assessment to see if they can make more money that it could cost them.
Yes Big Pharma is there to make money. Yes Big Pharma are unscrupulous. Yes Big Pharma can be dishonest and misreport things. Yet to make money they must be able to justify the potential millions that they’d lose in a law suit with the small profit for each injection. At worst they’d make a product that does nothing (like homeopathy) but at best they’d make a product that does some good so that it can compete in the marketplace.
Evil or not that is how capitalism works.
Let me ask if you have the same problem with the MMR vaccine?
Cynthia Janak Said:
on November 14, 2008 at 12:57 pm
hoverfrog
Thank you so much for your comment. It just proves to me that you understand the whole pretense behind big pharma and that is to make as much money as they can in as fast as they can and collateral damage does not count.
I prove my point in a radio interview that I did on September 23. Here is the link.
http://www.cynthiajanak.com/20081012gardasilradiointerview.html
Scroll down to the end and you will see all the audio files. There are four of them.
Have a good day.
Cynthia Janak Said:
on November 14, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Hoverfrog
Another thing. You made it obvious to me that you do not have a clue as to why the women in third world countries have such a high incidence of cervical cancer. Let me inform you.
The women in those countries do not have a proper diet and hygiene to promote a healthy lifestyle and immune systems. They also do not have access to a clinic or other health provider that we take for granted.
Also, the HPV virus, in a healthy individual usually does not cause any symptoms or problems because the body rids itself of the virus naturally. A healthy immune system helps with that. It is a persistant infection that is usually caught by a pap test that can cause the cancer. Regular screening finds the infection early when it is treatable and is still the best prevention method against cervical cancer. The makers of the HPV vaccines even recommend yearly screenings even though girls get the vaccine.
One last thing. Here in the United States cervical cancer incidence rate is only 1.6%. It does not even make it to the top ten list of deadly cancers here. So when you start spouting off about something that you so obviously have not researched fully I would suggest that you do not comment. It makes you look uneducated and ill informed.
anarchore Said:
on November 15, 2008 at 3:28 pm
“Evil or not that is how capitalism works.”
I say evil.
Then let us destroy evil.
hoverfrog Said:
on November 17, 2008 at 7:17 am
Cynthia, I read your comments with interest, sadly you must have just skimmed over mine. In North America, where regular health checks are available and preventative measures more common that, say, Africa it is not such a serious problem.
– http://www.cervicalcancer.org/statistics.html
That’s 8th. Correct me if I’ve missed something in my ignorance but isn’t 8th in the top ten? In England, where we offer free PAP smears to women and free treatment it is only the 12th most common cancer. In less developed countries it is the second most common cancer.
Also from the same page:
madame curie Said:
on November 18, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi everyone, as a woman in my mid thirties who recently tested positive for high risk HPV i would like to comment, it seems none here have it nor cervical cancer or any of the the various stages of dysplasia or cell abnormalities. I had a clear pap last year and i was considering the vaccine but it wasn’t available to me, I dearly wish i had taken it now in retrospect. Something many seem to be missing is that there are many abnormal cell developments that require surgery to prevent you from developing invasive cancer as a result of HPV. An abnormal pap doesn’t equal easy treatment, nor is HPV it a result of age or sexuality.
It is serious! very serious do not down play the numbers please! i am recently a member of an online support group and there are many many women there who are undergoing repeat painful surgeries to rid themselves of the various stages of this disease. the stories are so many i can’t even sift through them all. many are very emotional, many young, many old married , in college etc So to throw out cancer statistics is not looking at the bigger picture of HPV and how it affects society in its various stages and many preventative surgeries.
I was told by my GYN that at my age i likely wont clear the HPV infection, as the cervix tends to repair more so in younger women with HPV. The longer it lingers in my body the more likely dysplasia is to set it in, thats when the surgical procedures start with out even having cancer. For many they end up having them over and over and over taking time out of work, and also affecting the ability to conceive. the notion that this clears up by itself is a myth, for some yes but many many will not, Men are the luckier ones in this although no one here has really discussed the prevalence in HPV in men testiculary and anally, less common but it happens. the CDC is completely wrong in telling men how to deal with it. If you have a young daughter do not assume it will go away, i cannot tell you how many girls in their 20’s are on the site having surgical procedures done over and over. It affects your mental state as well as your body.
I URGE YOU ALL TO NOT THROW THE VACCINE OUT THE WINDOW ON SOME SKETCHY REPORTS, GIVE IT A CHANCE PLEASE BEFORE YOU REALLY KNOW.
If they had a vaccine for HIV would you not consider it even with unconfirmed reports of side effects?
**
madame curie Said:
on November 18, 2008 at 7:54 pm
This is the latest US stats on deaths from Gardisil. Reports to VAERS (The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) a useful early warning public health system that helps CDC and FDA detect possible side effects or adverse events following vaccination.
Following HPV Vaccination:
Deaths:
As of August 31, 2008, there have been 27 U.S. reports of death among females who have received the vaccine. There was no common pattern to the deaths that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine. Of the 27 U.S. reports:
* 3 reports were related to diabetes or heart failure
* 3 reports were related to viral illnesses or meningitis (an infection in the brain)
* 2 reports were related to drug use
* 2 reports were related to blood clots
* 5 reports are being evaluated (attempting to follow up/identify case)
* 1 report is still under review or VAERS is still waiting for additional medical records, such as an autopsy report or death certificate
* 1 report of seizure disorder (history of seizures)
* 3 reports had an unknown cause of death
* 7 reports that could not be evaluated because they did not have enough information to identify the person, or to verify that a person had died
Non-serious adverse event reports
VAERS defines NON-SERIOUS adverse events as those other than hospitalization, death, permanent disability, and life-threatening illness.
The vast majority (94%) of the adverse events reports following Gardasil have been non-serious. Reports of non-serious adverse events after Gardasil vaccination have included fainting, pain and swelling at the injection site (the arm), headache, nausea and fever. Fainting is common after injections and vaccinations, especially in adolescents. Falls after fainting may sometimes cause serious injuries, such as head injuries, which can be easily prevented by keeping the vaccinated person seated for up to 15 minutes after vaccination.
I myself have been vaccinated for many other things for third world travel and experienced fainting, fever, mild nausea and flu like symptoms, this was a known possibility ahead of time and I considered it a small sacrifice. For those of you quoting stories of yr daughters and friends daughters feeling ill afterwards perhaps you should rethink that sating that here as real factual proof that this is defining problem that makes a solid case against the reliability of the vaccine.
blue soup Said:
on November 19, 2008 at 5:54 am
Well said Madame Curie. I’m a 25 year old woman who underwent an invasive surgery last November. Initially suspected of having microinvasive cancer, it thankfully turned out to be precancerous stage 3.
There are thousands of women like me, young and older, who go through these operations – that the vaccine would protect against. While the arguments against the vaccine bandy around the “few” thousand who actually die, none ever seem to want to acknowledge the many, many thousands who require surgery. For those women that die, there are many more that lose their fertility, there are more that have serious psychological issues as a result.
Every day I thank my lucky stars that it was what it was, but nothing will take away what I went through and what so many women go through. Women don’t talk about it precisely because of the stigma that seems to be associated with HPV, and I’m sick to the back teeth of people making suggestive remarks about my lifestyle and suggesting that I deserved it. HPV is a fact of life. As an eminent professor at Cambridge recently commented on a BBC1 documentary that was quite hard on the vaccine, “it’s the 2 in 10 that don’t have it that are the odd ones”. The vaccine would have spared me all that. So, while smear tests are excellent in detecting cervical changes before cancer develops, they can’t protect against the need for surgery to deal with them. Those who are anti-vaccine just like to ignore this.
Nothing will bring back the piece of me that was removed.
hoverfrog Said:
on November 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thank you Madame Curie and Blue Soup. It can’t be easy relating your own personal stories but I do think that it is important to bring them out. It helps to dispel the mythology and horror stories surrounding the vaccine and reduces the resistance to the idea.