WHITE PAPER: Gardasil, the Cervical Cancer Vaccine: Carefree Cure or Cause for Caution? By Larry Scherwitz, PhD
On June 8, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gardasil, a vaccine created by the pharmaceutical giant, Merck, to protect girls and young women from specific human papillomavirus (HPV) strains that can lead to 70% of cervical cancer cases.(1) Since receiving approval in America and many European countries, tens of millions of females between ages 11 to 26 have been vaccinated with Gardasil. At this time, state legislators are considering campaigns to make Gardasil widely available if not mandatory.(2) While most who have received the vaccine are symptom-free, a growing number of desperate mothers believe in their heart and soul that Gardasil has caused their daughters’ serious, chronic—and sometimes life-threatening—adverse reactions.
Committed to helping and de-coding the contradictions between Merck’s scientific studies and those who are suffering serious side effects that seem to be linked to the vaccination, EmpowHer is presenting this white paper. The intention of EmpowHer is to act as a lightening rod and advocate for action if there are enough adverse cases reported. With this in mind, we are inviting you to let us know of young girls and women whose health has suffered following Gardasil injections.
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THANK YOU!
I have been concerned about this vaccine because I have read this same thing in other places. There was an article in Red Book about how it caused complications. Red Book has a long standing reputation and so I felt it was cause for alarm.
I have 2 daughters who are 11 and 14 and I would NOT get them this vaccine. Thank you for making more people aware of this issue.
I had the shots.. all three and have started having non epileptic seizures since then. I have not had a day without a seizure since June 8, 2009. I met Jodi while researching about the shot and the reactions going on with them because something gave my family and I the oddest feeling that it was Gardasil.
Since the first Gardasil shot I have been twitching randomly and having joint pains. The second set off stomach problems and always feeling liek I was gonna be sick. The third set off the full blown seizures along with migrains, other headaches, eye pain, confusion, memory loss, joint back, stomach pains, neausa, loss of appitite along with a ton of other symptoms that i will post on the other site..
Thank you for showing me this artical, Jodi.
There is a support group on yahoo.com called "lets_talk_about_gardasil" that might be helpful to you. Mothers and Researchers and victims talk and discuss their problems etc and offer advice on things that helped the injured , or simple venting,important links in regard to gardasil and everything related.
My daughter had an adverse reaction to Gardasil back in 2007 (June & August). She was an active college student who loved to hike, lift weights, swim and work with kids. She began having non-epileptic seizures after the first shot but we didn't connect it right away. The head pressure started after the second injection, swelling at the base of her skull and down her back became a horrific problem, she had severe pain throughout her nervous system, chronic fatigue, blurred vision & light sensitivity, peripheral neuropathy developed in both lower legs to the point she couldn't walk on her own anylonger; muscle spasms, bronchial spasms, brain fog, nausea, GI tract problems to the point she couldnt digest food.. and the list goes on. It took almost a year to find a doctor who diagnosed her with Guillain-barre syndrome and multiple neurological disorders. Nearly another year would pass, more doctors, before we found a doctor who could actually help her. Today, our daughter no longer has seizures, is walking short distances with cuff crutches, and is able to digest some foods while on a specially designed diet. Her auto-immune systems are all out of whack - due to the ingredients of Gardasil. She can't have anything with polysorbate-80 without severe complications and pain, no tap water, nothing cooked in aluminum pans - even her skin reacts to metals, tap water, etc. She hopes to one day be able to walk on her own, and drive a car again. This vaccine is unstable once it gets inside the human body!
First I would like to correct some of the information presented in this article. Gardasil was not approved by the FDA on June 8, 2008 but June 8, 2006. It is not approved for ages 11 to 26, but 9 to 26. And, while a reaction certainly can be reported to the FDA, it is the CDC which maintains VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) to collect and evaluate such complains of adverse reactions.
The comment was made that:
“With a clinical trial on the vaccine that lasted five years, Merck didn’t take the time to test for possible side effects that could become apparent—both short-term and over a longer period of time.”
This seems more like an editorial comment than fact. “Merck didn’t take the time….”? According to whom. Merck’s studies continue to be ongoing with respect to the long term effectiveness of the vaccine as well as potential side effects.
Last September, the FDA updated the documentation for the vaccine to include protection against vaginal and vulvar dysplasias and cancers. Unfortunately, they did not include anal cancer, 90 to 99% of which are shown to be caused by HPV. Hopefully in the near future, this will be updated once again. After all, it is these strains of the virus which the vaccine protects against not which area it happens to affect.
As the mother of a 17-year-old daughter, who has received the vaccine, my heart breaks for any parent and their child having to deal with such symptoms. However, as a woman having dealt with the ravages of HPV for 22 years including invasive anal cancer I know that I do not want my daughter to go through the pain, anguish (both mentally and physically) the sheer hell that I have gone through because of this virus.
Everything is relative. There are side effects and 32 deaths (only 25 confirmed by death certificate) attributable to the vaccine. This must be viewed in light of the 23 million vaccines distributed for use by the end of 2008. While the body’s immune system does suppress the virus in most cases there are still about 10% (not the 35% listed) which go on to develop dysplasia and/or cancer. Considering that there are over six million new cases of HPV diagnosed each year and allowing for 50% of those being women that still equates to 300,000 women a year in the US alone! The number of cases of lung cancer diagnosed annually is less than that.
Yes, Gardasil protects against two of the high risk HPV strains which cause dysplasia and cancer. However, these are just the two strains which have been shown to cause the majority of these conditions. Should we not vaccinate against the two main culprits for fear another strain will take its place? I think not.
Changes in labeling may be required when such side effects are deemed to be caused by the vaccine. This would be expected. I am willing to weigh those risks against what, from personal experience, I know to be the devastating consequences of this virus and the vaccine will win out every time.