Safety of Merck’s Gardasil in Question as Rhode Island Mandates HPV Vaccination for Children

Experts Question Safety of Merck's Gardasil as Rhode Island Mandates HPV Vaccination for Children

21st August 2015

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Associated with over 140 deaths and 29,918 vaccine reactions¹, Merck’s Gardasil is a highly controversial vaccine that’s been under fire for years, with many questions still unanswered as to its efficacy, safety and side-effects, marketing practices, and fast-tracked approval by the FDA.²

So it’s with great consternation that parents in Rhode Island, U.S. are faced with a mandatory Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination requirement for middle school children. Virginia and Washington D.C. both enacted a bill in 2007 that requires HPV vaccines for school attendance as well. At least 42 states and territories have initiated legislation to mandate the vaccine or to fund public educational campaigns about the HPV vaccine. However, this rash of enthusiasm for HPV vaccination from lawmakers is giving parents pause for thought, especially since the vaccine has a history of harmful side effects.³

Industry Insiders Speak Out About HPV Vaccine Dangers

Dr. Diane Harper has plenty of experience with Gardasil — she helped create and implement Phase II and Phase III safety and effectiveness studies on the vaccine, and has authored a number of published papers on it. And yet, she has come forward with concerns about the vaccine, namely that the protection from HPV only lasts approximately five years, which doesn’t reduce the instances of cervical cancers, “they are just postponed, unless the protection lasts for at least 15 years, and over 70% of all sexually active females of all ages are vaccinated.” She also feels enough serious side effects have been reported after Gardasil shots that the vaccine could actually be riskier than the cervical cancer it claims to prevent.

Dr. Scott Ratner and his wife, who is also a physician, agree. When one of their teenage daughters became extremely ill after her first dose of Gardasil, Dr. Ratner began to doubt the vaccine and came to the conclusion that cervical cancer would have been better than the effects of the vaccination. As he told CBS News, “My daughter went from a varsity lacrosse player at Choate to a chronically ill, steroid-dependent patient with autoimmune myofasciitis. I’ve had to ask myself why I let my eldest of three daughters get an unproven vaccine against a few strains of a nonlethal virus that can be dealt with in more effective ways.”

Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) readily admits it has known since 2003 that the Human Papilloma Virus rarely causes cancer (except in cases of repeat infections), and that HPV is normally self clearing.

“Infections caused by HPV actually pose no danger in healthy women and are usually short lived.”4

And a study in Current Pharmaceutical Design questions not only the effectiveness and safety of Gardasil, but also the clinical trials and data behind the vaccine:

“We note evidence of selective reporting of results from clinical trials (i.e., exclusion of vaccine efficacy figures related to study subgroups in which efficacy might be lower or even negative from peer-reviewed publications). Given this, the widespread optimism regarding HPV vaccines long-term benefits appears to rest on a number of unproven assumptions (or such which are at odd with factual evidence) and significant misinterpretation of available data.

“For example, the claim that HPV vaccination will result in approximately 70% reduction of cervical cancers is made despite the fact that the clinical trials data have not demonstrated to date that the vaccines have actually prevented a single case of cervical cancer (let alone cervical cancer death), nor that the current overly optimistic surrogate marker-based extrapolations are justified. Likewise, the notion that HPV vaccines have an impressive safety profile is only supported by highly flawed design of safety trials and is contrary to accumulating evidence from vaccine safety surveillance databases and case reports which continue to link HPV vaccination to serious adverse outcomes (including death and permanent disabilities).

“We thus conclude that further reduction of cervical cancers might be best achieved by optimizing cervical screening (which carries no such risks) and targeting other factors of the disease rather than by the reliance on vaccines with questionable efficacy and safety profiles.” 5

Reported post-Gardasil adverse reactions include:

Abortion/Stillbirth/Miscarriage, Addison’s Disease, Adrenal failure, Adrenal issues, Allergies, Anxiety/Panic Attacks, Appetite loss, Arthritis, Asthma attacks, Autistic-like symptoms, Autoimmune Disease (Lupus/Mixed Connective Tissue Disease), Back pain, Bacterial Vaginosis, Bladder issues, Bleeding gums, Blindness, Blood sugar issues, Bloody stools, Brain fog, Brain Inflammation, Brain lesions, Bronchitis, Cervical cancer, Chemical sensitivity, Chest pains, Convulsions, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Degenerative disk disease, Depression, Diabetes, Dizziness, Dyslexia, Dysplasia, Early Onset Menopause, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Fainting, Fatigue, Fertility issues, Fever, Fibromyalgia, Food allergies, Gallbladder issues, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Hair loss, Hallucinations, Hashimoto’s Disease, Heart Palpitations, Heart arrhythmia, Insomnia, Joint pain, Kidney failure, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Liver failure, Migraines, Nausea, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Ovarian failure, Paralysis, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Pneumonia, Rheumatoid arthritis, Seizures, Slurred speech, Swelling/edema, Vomiting, Weight gain or loss (20-30 lb).

Why Push for Vaccination in Non-Sexually Active Children?

The reason legislators are mandating HPV vaccines for non-sexually active, 6th grade children is because vaccinating sexually active girls with Gardasil (who may have already been exposed to HPV), could increase the rate of cervical cancer, according the Merck’s own research submitted to the FDA.6 

“If you have been exposed to HPV 16 or 18 prior to injection and take the vaccine, you increase your risk of precancerous lesions, or worse, by 44.6%.”?

Gregg B

Safeguard Vaccine Exemptions and Defend Your Right to Informed Consent

Parents often feel overwhelmed by the vaccine debate and the sheer amount of information available. Nevertheless, it’s crucial for everyone to take part in protecting the legal right to voluntarily choose whether or not to vaccinate. Otherwise, lobbyists representing pharmaceutical companies, public health officials and medical trade associations will make the choice for you.

Dr. Joseph Mercola offers several resources to learn more about about the dark side of vaccination and how to protect your right of informed consent:

National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) Advocacy Portal

  • Provides free and easy access to your state legislators via smart phone, tablet or computer. Receive updates on current state and national legislation that threatens your vaccine choice rights and how to take action in your community.

NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims

  • A site dedicated to honoring children and adults who have suffered from vaccine injuries, reactions and deaths. Read the stories behind the photos of those whose lives have been lost or forever changed by vaccination.

If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions 

  • Information on how to prevent vaccine injuries and identify vaccine reaction symptoms if they do occur.

Vaccine Freedom Wall

  • View or post descriptions of harassment and punitive action taken by doctors, school and health officials, and employers in retaliation for independent vaccine choices.

Article sources:

Previous articles by Carolanne Wright:

About the author:

Carolanne Wright

I’m Carolanne — a writer, chef, traveler and enthusiastic advocate for sustainability, organics and joyful living. It’s good to have you here. If you would like to learn more, connect with me at Thrive-Living.net or visit Twitter.com/Thrive_Living.

 


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