Dear Editor:

Bailey Valente’s front-page article on the increased use of Gardasil for boys (“The Latest Protection: More Teen Males Receiving Gardasil Vaccine for HPV Protection,” Feb. 28. 2012 issue of Inklings) was well-written, but missed some vitally important and growing controversies about this vaccine.

While it’s understandable why parents and their children may be drawn to this highly-publicized vaccine, the severe adverse effects and legitimate questions about its effectiveness should be taken into consideration. As parents of Staples and Long Lots students, we made an informed parental decision to avoid Gardasil shots for our daughter and sons after considerable research. The following factors came into consideration:

·        RISKS. In a single 16-month period (May 2009 to September 2010), the FDA logged 3,589 adverse reactions including  213 permanent disabilities and 789 “serious” reports of seizures, comas, paralysis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Sixteen girls died during this period.

·        NOT EFFECTIVE. Many medical experts are skeptical that Gardasil has any effectiveness whatsoever. It only “protects” against four of 18 strains of HPV.

·        NOT NECESSARY. Over 90% of HPV infections resolve themselves within two years. As for the cervical cancer that may occasionally result from HPV (only 1% of all cancers), early detection from pap tests have reduced the mortality rate for this cancer by 75% in recent years. It was our opinion that the cancer scare to induce people to take expensive shots was being exaggerated.

·        PROFIT MOTIVE. At three shots at up to $385 per shot, Merck is making record profits off Gardasil. Vaccinations are highly profitable for pharmaceutical companies, even though many medical experts question whether they work at all. Also, it is an unfortunate reality that some doctors (but, of course, not all) profit by recommending the shots – they receive a percentage of the $1000+ for the shots.

·        UNETHICAL LOBBYING.  The manufacturer has, unfortunately, been exposed as contributing campaign donations to state officials inTexasandCaliforniato make shots mandatory for 11 to 13 year old girls. It has also been caught lobbying state officials in all fifty states and making contributions to influence political groups such as Women in Government and the American Legislative Exchange Council to push legislation.

·        RESEARCH NOT COMPLETE. Gardasil has not been around long enough for any long-term trials either for safety, efficacy or for long-term effects. There’s no conclusive research that the shots would be effective even after a few years. Moreover, some medical professionals have said that the current generation is the “long-term trial” and young pre-teen patients now receiving the shots may be “Guiney pigs.”

·        WHAT’S IN THE SHOT. As parents, we objected to a genetically modified version of the HPV virus itself being injected into the bloodstream of our children.

There are many other considerations that space doesn’t allow, but can be found in a single, important source: VacTruth.com (weblink: http://bit.ly/xvPoXj).    Important: none of this is intended as medical advice. Many thousands in the medical profession would strongly object to some of the conclusions described above, and everyone is encouraged to do their own research on the Internet. But after our own extensive research, it was clear that Gardasil was not appropriate for our children.

Respectfully,

 Keith Styrcula