Showing posts with label HPV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HPV. Show all posts

Examining the Science & Politics of HPV Vaccine

by Barbara Loe Fisher

It has been nearly two years since the FDA fast tracked the licensure of Merck's GARDASIL vaccine and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended it for universal use by all 11 year old girls. Calls for state mandates for sixth grade entry soon followed with Merck leading an aggressive lobbying campaign with pro-forced vaccination proponents talking about 12 year old girls having sex. The National Vaccine Information Center countered by publicly framing the debate about GARDASIL mandates as a product safety and informed consent issue: the vaccine had only been tested in fewer than 1200 girls under age 16 followed up for less than two years.

Now, a leading HPV vaccine researcher has spoken out opposing mandates in a three-part series produced by CBS4-TV in Miami. Speaking to investigative journalist Michele Gillen Harper said "We don't know yet what's going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in process a place that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment. So we can't do that until we have more data."

It takes a lot of courage for any scientist or physician to stand up and speak out about the need for government, industry and physicians to embrace the precautionary principle: First, do no harm. Dr. Harper has upheld high standards for scientific and ethical integrity by responsibly calling for rigorous post- marketing surveillance of licensed HPV vaccines and adherence to the informed consent ethic.

The National Vaccine Information Center has received nearly 100 reports of serious health problems following vaccination. NVIC issued three reports on GARDASIL adverse events reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). In August 2007, NVIC called on the CDC to warn doctors that the safety of giving GARDASIL simultaneously in combination with other vaccines had not been proven safe.

A family support group for those who have reported HPV vaccine reactions to NVIC is being created. If you or a loved one has suffered an HPV vaccine reaction, you can make a report to NVIC's 26- year old Vaccine Reaction Registry by going to https://www.nvic.org/report/reaction.htm. Please indicate if you would like to participate in the HPV Vaccine Reaction Family Support Group.


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"According to Dr. Diane Harper, "the vaccine has not been out long enough for us to have post marketing surveillance to really understand what all the potential side effects are going to be. We feel it is very safe." However, she adds, "We don't know yet what's going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in process a place that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment. So we can't do that until we have more data." Barbara Loe Fisher agrees. She took to the streets a grass roots fight credited with derailing many efforts around the country to mandate the vaccine. "It was the quickest effort I have ever seen in 25 years for a vaccine to be mandated," says Fisher. A mother of a son who she say was left with learning disabilities following a routine vaccination in the 1980's, Fisher is President and Co Founder of the National Vaccine Information Center. It is a non-profit independent clearinghouse for information on vaccines and disease. Fisher says her organization has been contacted by nearly 100 parents claiming their daughters have suffered some type of adverse reaction following a Gardasil shot - at times given in combination with other vaccines. She says many parents are frustrated in their search for answers and that they don't know where to turn. She tells Gillen "the National Vaccine Information Center is getting reports every week, mostly mothers, of what is happening to their 11-year old girls after receiving Gardasil." - CBS4-TV (Miami), Michele Gillen reporting (May 7, 2008)
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=54565@wfor.dayport.com

"Bell says she now finds herself on a search for answers as to what happened to her daughter, Brittney, just weeks following an injection of Gardasil and a tetanus shot. The former cheerleader and runner's left leg was mysteriously affected by paralysis. The family wants to know if the condition could have been triggered by the vaccines she received that day. Reported adverse events following vaccine injections, including Gardasil, have come under increasing scrutiny by parents reviewing them on the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)....."Brittany's case is at a quandary," said Sean Cronin, attorney for the Bell family. Cronin says it is an uphill battle trying to investigate whether the Gardasil shot played any role in what has happened to Brittney. Christina Bell says Brittney's pediatrician does not believe there is a link. Now the Bell family has learned that Merck can't be sued over its Gardasil vaccine because it has been added to a federal list of vaccines recommended by the government. The vaccine manufacturers are insulated from liability." - CBS4-TV (Miami), Michele Gillen reporting (May 25, 2008)
http://cbs4.com/video/id =53934@wfor.dayport.com

"Christina Bell's daughter, Brittney, was one of the young girls who recieved the vaccine. Just weeks later, her life took a radical turn for the worse. Seemingly, in a moment's time, Brittney's left leg became paralyzed, her ankle swinging like a rag doll's. Even with a shoe brace, she walks with a limp. "It's hard for me to lift it up," Brittney told Gillen. Brittney's limb paralysis occurred shortly after the 12 year old went to the doctor for a routine tetanus shot for school.....Last February, the FDA told CBS4 that it was investigating reports of 13 deaths following an HPV vaccination. At the time, the agency said it was confident that none were tied to the vaccine and that reports of adverse events were under review but not considered anything out of the ordinary. An FDA spokeswoman told CBS4 this week that she could not provide an update on the number of reported events, including deaths. "I haven't seen updated numbers for several months. We monitor on a daily basis but we don't total it up. We are not seeing a problem," said Susan Cruzan, spokesperson for the FDA.....Brittney's mom said she can't find a doctor willing to report an adverse reaction following the administration of her daughter's vaccines. CBS4 informed her that parents, just like doctors, can report an adverse event and the Bell family has done just that." - CBS4-TV (Miami), April 24, 2007
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=53899@wfor.dayport.com

Merck's HPV Vaccine: Paralysis and Deaths

" The FDA adverse event reports on the HPV vaccine read like a catalog of horrors," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Any state or local government now beset by Merck's lobbying campaigns to mandate this HPV vaccine for young girls ought to take a look at these adverse health reports. It looks as if an unproven vaccine with dangerous side effects is being pushed as a miracle drug." Judicial Watch filed its request on May 9, 2007, and received the adverse event reports from the FDA on May 15, 2007. Judicial Watch has posted the adverse event reports on their Internet site at: http://www.JudicialWatch.org." - Judicial Watch, May 23 statement

"Student Natasha D'Souza said she collapsed and was left paralysed for six hours after being injected. "I couldn't move at all. There were girls dropping like flies, basically," she said. Ms D'Souza said she had been vaccinated in the past but her reaction to Gardasil was different. Fellow student Brooke Levy, who was taken to hospital, said she thought she might pass out or vomit after she was vaccinated. But authorities believed their reactions were likely to be related to having an injection not the vaccine itself." - Danialle Cronin, Canberra Times, Australia

"Her legs are paralyzed, her arms are affected. She is very weak in her arms," said Tondra Vees a family friend. "She has to use a walker. Even with that, she can't get to the bathroom. She can't stand up at all." Vees said the girl has been determined by her doctor to have Guillain-Barre syndrome, an acute, autoimmune condition that can lead to paralysis. The girl.....received her first booster shot of the cervical cancer prevention vaccine Gardasil on May 2....Vees cites a report on the National Vaccine Information Center Web site, nvic.org, in which NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher states, "There are twice as many children collapsing and four times as many children experiencing tingling, numbness and loss of sensation after getting a Gardasil vaccination compared to those getting a TDAP (tetanus-diphtheria- acellular pertussis) vaccination. There have been reports of facial paralysis and Guillain-Barre syndrome..." - Jo Rafferty, May 17 Nevada Appeal

"Assembly Bill 16 would require pupils to receive shots recommended by the federal government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices -- a list that happens to include Gardasil -- after approval by the state health officer. Rick Rollens, a longtime Capitol staffer and lobbyist, pleaded with the Assembly Education Committee to hold up AB 16, saying his son "suffers from vaccine-induced regressive autism" and citing increasing evidence that childhood vaccines play a role in autism. He characterized AB 16 as "an outrageous and arrogant attempt" to shift vaccination mandates from the Legislature to a "non-accountable bureaucrat" and a remote federal committee. Nevertheless, the bill sailed through the Assembly's education and health committees...." - Dan Walters, May 17 Sacramento Bee

"In an editorial published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, the UCSF doctors suggest that there are still too many questions about both the efficacy and the long-term safety of the vaccine, called Gardasil, to warrant making it mandatory for all girls -- as has been suggested in several states, including California. "At this stage, vaccination can still be considered experimental," said Dr. Karen McCune, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF, who co-authored the editorial. "To be discussing mandatory vaccination when the main clinical trials are still ongoing seems extremely premature. We're feeling like the enthusiasm is driving policy rather than data." - Erin Allday, May 10 San Francisco Chronicle

Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:

In June 2006, NVIC issued its first press release providing evidence that Merck's GARDASIL vaccine had not been thoroughly tested for safety and efficacy in young girls. In February, NVIC released two detailed reports analyzing vaccine reaction reports filed with the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which documented that many girls were suffering atypical collapse with seizure activity and subsequent brain dysfunction, including three cases of facial paralysis and five cases of Guillain Barre syndrome (http://www.nvic.org/Diseases/HPV/HPVHOME.htm). NVIC has led the opposition to HPV vaccine mandates based on product safety concerns that there is inadequate scientific proof the vaccine is safe and effective for 11 year old girls, who are being targeted by the CDC and Merck for mass use.

And it just keeps getting worse and worse. Now three deaths have been reported, along with more reports of paralysis in girls who have gotten the poorly tested HPV vaccine. As usual, the vaccine maker and public health officials are in denial mode, using the unscientific "coincidence" argument in an attempt to cover- up HPV vaccine-related death and neuroimmune dysfunction. And, still, politicians in California, New York and other states press forward to get GARDASIL mandated even as politicians in many other states are wisely backing off from adding it to state vaccine mandates for school entry.

For those who have watched industry and government cover-up harm caused by DPT, DTaP, MMR, HIB, hepatitis B, chicken pox, pneumococcal, influenza, anthrax and other vaccines during the past quarter century, the HPV vaccine risk cover-up is just another deja vu experience. Same story, different vaccine.

When will it end? When will industry and government health officials, along with pediatricians and nurses injecting children with reactive vaccines, like GARDASIL, stop deluding themselves into believing the public is going to blindly trust and buy the "coincidence" argument forever?

For more information about GARDASIL and HPV infection, go to www.nvic.org. If you or a loved one has experienced a reaction to GARDASIL vaccine or any other vaccine, you can post your story (and a photo) on the International Memorial for Vaccine Victims at www.vaccinememorial.org.

April 13 NYC Talk on HPV Vaccine Decisions

HPV Infection and HPV Vaccine: Making an Informed Decision

Why:
Public health officials have told American parents to give their 11-year-old daughters the human papilloma virus, or HPV, vaccine. And drug company lobbyists are trying to persuade state legislators to mandate the vaccine for sixth grade girls. Now, some are talking about the need to vaccinate boys too. But how much does the American public really know about HPV infection, cervical cancer and the newly licensed HPV vaccine, GARDASIL, or the HPV vaccine soon to be licensed, CERVARIX?

When and where:
Come hear the story behind the story on Friday, April 13 at 6:00 p.m. at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, Manhattan. Admission is free.

Who:
Barbara Loe Fisher, is co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and defending the informed consent ethic. She is the co-author of the 1985 book DPT: A Shot in the Dark and has been the leader of the vaccine safety and informed consent movement for the past quarter century. She has served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Forum and the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Vicky Debold, Ph.D., RN is health policy analyst for the National Vaccine Information Center. She served as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan; an associate professor and director of the Health Systems Management Program at the University of Detroit, Mercy; and health policy analyst for the U.S. Congress at the Physician Payment Review Commission, the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition and the Michigan State Commission on Patient Safety.

Sponsor:
The evening is sponsored by the Center for Medical Consumers.

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"In making the case for its vaccine, Merck has said Gardasil prevents genital warts and other dangerous HPV strains. The firm is also studying Gardasil's use in boys. GlaxoSmithKline counters that Cervarix is more powerful and may prevent up to 80 percent of cancers, thanks to the company's proprietary adjuvant, AS04, a key booster ingredient. It also is funding an unusual head-to-head comparison to try to prove Cervarix is more potent than Gardasil. And then there is the price. At $360 for a three-shot course, Gardasil is the most expensive vaccine ever marketed, part of an industry effort to push up profit margins in the notoriously risky business. GlaxoSmithKline declined to disclose what it would charge for Cervarix, if approved as expected sometime between October and January." - Thomas Ginsberg, Philadelphia Inquirer , March 30, 2007

“ Several studies are underway to better understand the [HPV] virus in males and whether the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil, also will work for them. As researchers already know and as the new data confirm, HPV is not just a women’s issue..... We know they transmit it to women, but what is the rate of transmission?” says Anna Giuliano, a researcher at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., who is leading three government- financed studies on HPV infection in men. She is also a paid speaker for Merck, the maker of Gardasil.....“We’re seeing a really high prevalence in men, and we see little change in prevalence across the age span,” says Giuliano, who found the 60 percent prevalence rate in one of her studies..... HPV infection isn’t inconsequential in men. Certain strains of the virus are known to cause genital warts in men as well as women. And those infections are estimated to be the cause of about half of all anal, penile, vulvar and vaginal cancers and about 20 percent of the cause of all oral cancers, says Dr. Dean Blumberg, an associate professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of California, Davis. Blumberg is a member of Merck’s speakers bureau but is not paid directly by Merck for his services." - Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2007

"The state is attempting to micromanage children's healthcare with legislative proposals requiring young girls to receive a vaccine to fight cervical cancer unless their parents or guardians opt out in writing. The state should leave the matter up to parents and their children's doctors and concentrate on diseases and illnesses that are communicable in the school setting, not those from a virus that is sexually transmitted. Cervical cancer is a deadly disease, killing about half of those who contract it worldwide. In the United States, 1-in-3 victims die. There are about 15,000 cervical cancer cases in the United States each year. If Gardasil can greatly reduce that number - and it appears to have that potential - that's wonderful. But the [Illinois] Legislature should not inject itself into this decision." - Editorial Board, Pantagraph, Bloomberg, IL

Michigan Kills HPV Mandate

"The [HPV} vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in girls as young 9 and up to 26. A government advisory panel recommends that the vaccine be administered before girls become sexually active. However, no sixth-grade girl should be sexually active. Admittedly, probably some kids at this age are. Hopefully a minority of the girls. Why force the vaccine on all youngsters that age? Again, the decision to get the shot should be left up to the parents, who we would suggest urge abstinence at such a young age.....This vaccination is a parental and family decision. It belongs in the house and not the state House." - Dec. 27, 2006 EDITORIAL, The Oakland Press (Michigan)

"The legislation [to mandate HPV vaccine], sponsored by Sen. Bev Hammerstron (R-Temperance) passed 36-1 in the [Michigan] Senate back on Sept. 20. The legislation included an amendment that allowed parents to opt out if so desired. However, there continued to be strong opposition to the bill in the House. The basis of the opposition was that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had only approved the vaccine in June of this year, and there are claims that some individuals have had negative reactions to the vaccine. What's more, the virus is spread through sexual contact, and some view the idea of presenting the vaccine to girls in schools as a subtle signal that they're expected to be sexually active." - Legislative Update from Sue Waltman, founder, MOM (Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines).

Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:

During the past few months, Michigan parents took the time and made the effort to educate Michigan state legislators about the potential risks of HPV vaccine and the inappropriate attempt by those trying to persuade politicians to mandate the vaccine for all sixth grade girls. The vaccine education effort was spearheaded by Michigan Opposting Mandatory Vaccination (MOM) headed by Sue Waltman, who has been a longtime informed consent advocate working in Michigan to defend parents' right to make informed, voluntary vaccination decisions.

When state legislators have full and accurate information about the benefits and risks of new vaccines that state health officials and drug companies want to mandate supplied by citizens who will be affected by those mandates, legislators often make different choices than if they only hear from drug company and physician organization lobbyists, who profit from vaccine mandates. It is extremely important for citizens in every state to understand that they CAN affect the choices their legislators make with regard to new vaccine mandates IF they stand up and make their voices heard.

Congratulations to MOM and the other parents and activist citizens in Michigan who cared enough about protecting their informed consent rights to fight for them.


HPV Vaccine Prepares Teens for HIV Vaccine

"The goal of "Team Vaccinates Teens" is for researchers to learn what structures are effective for engaging youth in an extended vaccination program, creating a model that will eventually allow for delivery of an HIV vaccine once one becomes available.......it is expected that HIV vaccine trials will be open to adolescents in approximately two to four years.... Stephen Lewinstein, part-owner of the Boston Celtics said. "With half of all diagnosed AIDS patients today under the age of 25, a safe and effective vaccine is the best way to control the spread of this deadly disease. Through the combined strengths of those involved in the 'Team Vaccinates Teen' program, we will ensure that when a HIV vaccine is approved it will make a significant and direct impact on infection rates in adolescents." - Medical News Today, November 10, 2006
First Teen Vaccination Delivery Program In The Country Funded By Boston Celtics

Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:

The National Vaccine Information Center has been warning the public for more than a decade that the long term strategy of those creating electronic vaccine tracking systems and vaccine mandates for sexually transmitted diseases like hepatitis B are preparing for the eventual mandating of HIV vaccine for all children. Now, the Boston Celtics are partnering with a hospital that wants to enroll teenagers in its HIV vaccine trials tomorrow by creating an infrastructure to deliver HPV vaccine to teenagers today.

States like Michigan are already moving to mandate HPV vaccine, which seeks to prevent infection with a sexually transmitted virus (HPV) that sometimes leads to cervical cancer in women who do not get routine pap smears. Most people clear HPV from the body and there has been a nearly 75 percent drop in cervical cancer cases in the U.S. since the 1950's when pap smears became a routine part of physicals for women. Merck's Gardasil vaccine has not been thoroughly tested for safety (see NVIC's June 27 Gardasil press release at www.nvic.org).

Hepatitis B disease is most prevalent among adult IV drug users and those with multiple sexual partners. When the CDC recommended in 1991 that all 12 hour old infants in the newborn nursery be injected with hepatitis B vaccine, there were only a few hundred cases of hepatitis B reported in children under 14 years old annually. Seven years after hepatitis B vaccination there are no detectable antibodies. Hepatitis B vaccination has been associated with multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other kinds of brain and immune system dysfunction.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated with AIDS is notoriously unstable and can mutate in individuals who become infected. Scientists around the world privately express doubts that an HIV vaccine can be developed that will prevent HIV infection and also be safe for everyone.

The children of America are being set up to become the human guinea pigs for testing an HIV vaccine. Will they and their parents be fully informed about all risks when they are offered up to the scientists? Every teenager who is injected with HIV vaccine will test positive for HIV for the rest of his or her life. And for the rest of their lives they will not know if the part of the HIV organism that was injected into them will cause serious health problems.

HIV vaccination, like hepatitis B vaccination mandated for children in the last decade of the 20th century and like the HPV vaccine on its way to being mandated for children in the first decade of the 21st century, will be mandated for children when it is licensed. And if these children get sick or die after they are vaccinated, their sickness and death will be written off as a "coincidence" by those who have forced them to get vaccinated.

The well meaning Boston Celtics have done America a favor by getting the AIDS vaccine agenda out in the open. Now Americans must decide what they will do.

The right to informed consent to medical interventions that can cause injury or death is a human right. No forced vaccination - not in America.