Is Gard(asil) Asleep at the Gate?
(Image taken from here)
In the United States, young women are encouraged to get vaccinated with Gardasil, which is the more popular of two vaccines against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) … specifically when they are about to become sexually active, and especially if you’re about to enter college. I myself got vaccinated in high school, and I began to develop doubts as soon as new information came rolling in.
I-Newswire.com claims that “HPV, a sexually transmitted disease which is known to cause cervical cancer, is an easily preventable disease” due to Gardasil, a drug that is creating a lot of controversy.I-Newswire.com also argues that you can protect yourself from contracting HPV by practicing certain healthy lifestyle habits, such as practicing safe sex and restricting your sex life to only one partner.
In The Washington Post‘s Consumer Report Insight, the Post agrees that Gardasil “prevents infection from four types of [HPV], the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. Those four types cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.” However, the Post adds that Gardasil is highly effective for women who have not already been infected with HPV, but if a woman is already infected, the infection cannot be treated nor can a disease of that type be prevented. Although the vaccine is supposed to be effective for a long period of time, it is unknown as to how long the person who was vaccinated is immune to HPV.
I think that a lot of women assume that if they get vaccinated, they are in the clear and do not have to worry about contracting something- even if you get the Gardasil vaccination, you should still get checked out periodically and get a Pap Smear, which is recommended for women who were vaccinated anyway! The Centers for Disease Control has posted “Reports of Health Concerns Following HPV Vaccination.” What makes me nervous is that Gardasil is fairly new on the market, which means that it probably has not been tested as well as other drugs, and even still Gardasil is being pushed on young woman:
“As of January 31, 2010, there have been 49 U.S. reports of death among females who have received Gardasil.”
That certainly isn’t comforting.
The media and the medical industry fail to mention is this: males can contract HPV too, and they aren’t being encouraged to take Gardasil or any other HPV vaccine, especially one that is currently being associated with a lot of risks.
More and more cases of cervical cancer are being detected due to a new home HPV testing kit on the market, as reported by BBC. So the problem is there, but the solution is iffy.
If you have already been vaccinated with Gardasil and you’d like to scare yourself more, visit Generation Rescue.
- R.
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