The National Vaccine Information Center warned state officials to investigate the safety of a cancer vaccine as Texas became the first state to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for school-age girls (this webpage begins with 2008 articles, updated February 2008)...

 [To view all previous updates on the HPV Vaccine situation found on this website,

please click here .]

9 January 2008

HPV VACCINE RESEARCHER CRITICIZES DRUG MARKETING AS "PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERIMENT". Diane M. Harper, the researcher who has spent 20 years studying human papillomavirus (HPV) and did the bulk of the work that was used to develop a vaccine for several strains of the virus, has warned that mandating the vaccine for girls under the age of 18 may actually backfire, causing cervical cancer rates to go up.

Twenty-six states are considering some form of mandatory HPV vaccination for school-age girls. Harper [director, Dartmouth Medical School's Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, New Hampshire] warned that there have been no tests of the vaccine's effectiveness on girls under the age of 15.

The drug may not be effective on younger girls, and it may have unforeseen side effects or interactions with other vaccines given at that age. Nonetheless, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended it for ages 9-26. "Giving it to 11-year-olds is a great big public health experiment," Harper said.

"To mandate now is simply to Merck's benefit, and only to Merck's benefit." But with the way the drug is being marketed, Harper is concerned that vaccinated women may decide that they are immune, and forego their yearly Pap smear testing.

Harper also warned that the vaccine is ineffective if given to someone who is already infected -- and because HPV is spread by skin-to-skin contact, a person does not have to be sexually active to contract it. For this reason, Harper suggests giving the vaccine only to those who test negative for the targeted HPV strains.

The HPV test is conducted by vaginal swab, which Harper says is inappropriate for children.

Finally, Harper warned that not enough research has been done to know how long the vaccine lasts, or at what age a booster may be needed. This means that even if the vaccine is effective in young girls, it may have worn off by the age at which they are most susceptible to cervical cancer. BTW, the vaccine also does NOT protect women from the other HPV strains associated with cervical cancer, nor does it protect against any other types of STDs. It also does not affect ovulation; thus, pregnancy is always possible... [9January08, David Gutierrez, newstarget.com]


16 January 2008

VA HOUSE STALLS USE OF HPV VACCINE FOR SCHOOLGIRLS. A year after becoming the only state to mandate that schoolgirls receive a vaccine for the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer, Virginia lawmakers 15Jan08 took a step to delay the requirement for one year, until 2010.

Lawmakers who support the delay said it would allow more time to study the vaccine's effects on young girls and for competing vaccinations (Cervarix) to reach the market.

More than a dozen states opted instead for laws that either provided more funding for the vaccination or required schools to distribute educational materials about it.

"It is one thing to endorse the use of a vaccine against cervical cancer, but altogether another to require children to get it," said Robert A. Smith, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society.

The legislation faces opposition in the Senate, where Democrats have a new one-seat majority. [16Jan08, Richmond, AP, D. Potter, http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080116/METRO/308830924/1004]

28 January 2008

TWO EUROPEAN DEATHS MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH HPV VACCINE. Two women have died shortly after receiving the new vaccine for human papilloma virus (HPV) that is being used in massive vaccination programmes in Europe. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) did not disclose the women's names, but has reported that the deaths occurred in Austria and Germany.

The agency, which acts as the European Union drug overseer, maintains that "benefits of Gardasil continue to outweigh its risks and that no changes to its product information are necessary." An estimated 1.5 million women have already been vaccinated with the drug in Europe, the agency said.

"No causal relationship has been established between the deaths of the young women and the administration of Gardasil," the EMEA statement said.

The drug that will be distributed in mandatory public health programmes in Britain has been implicated in the deaths of three women in the US. Marketed by the pharmaceutical giant Merck Frosst, Gardasil is a vaccine against some strains of HPV, the sexually transmitted infection that is known to cause most cases of cervical cancer.

Gardasil's approval by the US Food and Drug Administration was based on the testing of only a few thousand patients, only a small portion of whom (1200) were young girls, aged 9-13 years. This age, group, however, is now being specifically targeted for mandatory vaccination programmes, including one by the province of Ontario.

The group Judicial Watch reported last year on the deaths of three US women related to the vaccine. One physician's assistant reported that a female patient "died of a blood clot three hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine." Two other reports, on girls 12 and 19, reported deaths relating to heart problems and/or blood clotting.

In the US, the company dropped its lobbying efforts to have the drug used in nation-wide immunization programmes after opposition grew from medical groups.

Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.

The US National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) warned last year that "Merck and the FDA have not been completely honest with the people about the pre-licensure clinical trials."

NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher said in February 2007, "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."

Related coverage:

Judicial Watch Uncovers Three Deaths Relating to HPV Vaccine
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07052501.html

Merck Drug Company Drops Campaign for Mandatory HPV Vaccine
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07022109.html

Support for HPV Vaccine Gardasil Helps Planned Parenthood Says LDI President
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/oct/07101807.html
[28Jan08, Hilary White, LifeSiteNews.com]

February 2008

VIRGINIA IGNORES HPV VACCINE CONCERNS. Despite new fears over the safety of the HPV vaccine, a Virginia senate committee voted 10-5 yesterday to kill a bill that would have postponed the state's vaccination mandate.

The vote came just hours after Arizona news agencies broke the story that the HPV vaccine Gardasil may be linked to the paralysis of a 12-year-old girl.

Virginia now has the dubious distinction of being the only state in America to require sixth-grade girls to be immunized against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).

Sixteen other states backed away from mandating after a grassroots outcry from concerned parents whose role in the process was to be short-circuited. The legislation from Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall (R) simply asked the state to delay its mandate until researchers are able to collect data on the drug's long-term effects. Unfortunately, Virginia has stubbornly chosen to put corporate profit ahead of women's health and parental authority.

FRC, which welcomed the development of the vaccine but opposes school mandates, has released a pamphlet by Moira Gaul, MPH, called, "Gardasil: What Every Parent Should Know about the HPV Vaccine." Gardasil: What Every Parent Should Know About the HPV Vaccine
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=BC07E02&f=WA08B34