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IMAGE SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons/ Gardasil poster at school clinic/ author: Eugene Peretz
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One In Three Vaccinated
The numbers are in on the popularity of the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey finds that while 37 percent of girls/teens receive at least one shot, only 18 percent of girls receive all of the three-shot series, the recommended doseage over a six-month period to protect against some viruses that cause cervical cancer and genital warts.
The numbers come from girls who were surveyed and vaccinated through 2008, reports WebMD.
In 2007, about one in four adolescents had received the first dose of the vaccine. Proponents hoped for larger numbers. Cervical cancer kills about 4,000 in the U.S. every year.
Gardasil, made by Merck & Co. was approved in 2006 to protect against two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause genital warts and two that cause cervical cancers.
It is approved for girls ages 9 through 26, before they become sexually active, and Merck just received an initial approval from an FDA advisory panel to expand the use for boys.
Meanwhile rival vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline’s Ceravix, should be approved this year.
The use of Gardasil seems to vary by state, reports the CDC in Thursday’s issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report which surveyed nearly 18,000 adolescents who allowed researchers to check their records, reports AP.
More than half of teen girls ages 13-through-17 had at least one shot in six states – Arizona, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
States with the highest number of users include Rhode Island at 54.7 percent, and New Hampshire 54.4 percent. States with the lowest number of users include Mississippi at 15.8 percent and Georgia at 18.5 percent. Some parents have expressed their belief that giving the shot promotes sexual activity.
The effectiveness of Gardasil is unknown.
HPV is spread through sexual contact. There are more than 100 different types of HPV and some low risk varieties can cause genital warts. Most people do not develop cancer from HPV which can be detected with a PAP test.
Many doctors do not feel comfortable prescribing a medication until it has been on the market for at least five years.
Adverse Events
IB News has reported extensively on the side effects or adverse events some girls suffer after being given Gardasil.
As of June 1, 2009, the CDC reports that as of June 1, 2009, there were 14,072 reports of adverse events following a Gardasil vaccination among 25 million doses. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which causes muscle weakness, is one of the more common reactions following inoculation, as is fainting, dizziness, numbness, migraines, blood clots, and muscle aches.
Last year, Judicial Watch, a Washington D.C- based public interest group, using the Freedom of Information Act, obtained from the FDA reports of nearly 9,000 adverse health events reported to the government and 18 deaths.
Not yet recorded are anecdotal reports. Thursday night a Jacksonville grandmother told First Coast News that her granddaughter died two days after receiving the third Gardasil shot in February 2008. She was a healthy 17-year-old.
Despite the reports, the CDC continues to recommend Gardasil for teen girls before they are sexually active. #