Gardasil: Do The Benefits Outweigh The Risks?

The controversy surrounding the Gardasil vaccine has been around from the moment it was approved for use in young girls.  And from the very beginning I have had a problem with Gardasil being referred to as a cervical cancer vaccine – because it’s not.   I also have a problem with the ‘fear mongering’ commercials designed to look like public service announcements, and the possibility of making this vaccine (yet another) required by the government.

In the end, I want to research the facts and be the one to make an educated decision about whether or not to vaccinate my daughter for the HPV virus.  To be perfectly honest…At this point I don’t see any indication that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks.  Although the risks are very small, the benefits seem to be even smaller.

But don’t take my word for it…Look at some of the most recent facts about Gardasil.

Read full post at catherine-morgan.com

Back-To-School and Swine Flu

With back-to-school just around the corner…The CDC has just released it’s recommendations to schools for the 2009-2010 school year. I have to say that I am very pleased the CDC is taking a ‘no need to panic’ attitude towards back-to-school and the swine flu. I was worried they were going to pull a mandatory vaccine out of their aaass…(I mean) hat. And if that would have happened, it would have seriously thrown me off the deep end.

As much as the media loved hyping this story and scaring the bee-geezers out of everyone. Fear is never the answer.

Here are some of the CDC – Guidelines for schools (K-12) …

Stay home when sick: Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs. (For more information, see CDC Recommendations for the Amount of Time Persons with Influenza-Like Illness Should be Away from Others.)

Separate ill students and staff: Students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness should be sent to a room separate from others until they can be sent home. CDC recommends that they wear a surgical mask, if possible, and that those who care for ill students and staff wear protective gear such as a mask.

Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette: The new recommendations emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of influenza prevention: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

Routine cleaning: School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. Special cleaning with bleach and other non-detergent-based cleaners is not necessary.

Early treatment of high-risk students and staff: People at high risk for influenza complications who become ill with influenza-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible. Early treatment with antiviral medications is very important for people at high risk because it can prevent hospitalizations and deaths. People at high risk include those who are pregnant, have asthma or diabetes, have compromised immune systems, or have neuromuscular diseases.

Consideration of selective school dismissal: Although there are not many schools where all or most students are at high risk (for example, schools for medically fragile children or for pregnant students) a community might decide to dismiss such a school to better protect these high-risk students.

Read the full post at Catherine-Morgan.com

Do You Keep Up With Annual Checkups?

Do you keep up with your annual checkups?  We all know we should, but it’s easy to come up with reasons to avoid them.  Instead of ignoring checkups, try understanding why they are so important.  Even better, know the right questions you should ask your doctor, and how your doctor should be communicating with you.

I found a great resource by Merck that allows you to pick a topic and then gives you all the questions you should ask your doctor about that topic.  It’s called MerckSource…

Going to see the doctor? Even the best physician can’t give you the right answers if you’re not asking the right questions. Our simple, structured, and easy to read “Questions to Ask Your Doctor” section helps put you in control of your healthcare.

Breaking Autism News – See YouTube CBS Video with Katie Couric

ALSO SEE:

Autism: The Disease, The Debate, and the Devastated Families

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Gardasil For Boys Too?

This is from Mir at BlogHer.  Gardasil’s Back in the News:  Boys Now Need It, Too?

There’s been a lot of talk here at BlogHer about Gardasil, over the past year or so. I wrote about it a year ago, trying to articulate my feelings on it as a mom to a daughter who would soon be eligible for vaccination. Catherine Morgan has kept her finger on the pulse of the matter with multiple posts, including pointing out that several young girls have died within hours of receiving the vaccination.

My initial optimism was, perhaps, premature.

In the meantime, various states have been discussing mandating the vaccine, or trying to, with varying levels of success. (Check out Vaccine Awakening for a good explanation of what recently happened in the Virginia legislature.)

And now there’s this — HPV-caused oral cancer is on the rise in men, prompting Merck to seek government approval to make Gardasil available to boys, as well.

READ FULL POST AT BLOGHER

Also See:

What is Not Being Reported about the Merck Cervical Cancer Vaccine

Ten Reasons Why HPV Vaccine is ‘Murky’

Gardasil:  The Three Faces of the HPV Vaccine

First Update

Second Update

Third Update

Potential Problems with Tamiflu, and Questioning The Benefits of the Flu Vaccine

Potential Problems with Tamiflu, and Questioning The Benefits of the Flu Vaccine — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

New warnings from the FDA about possible psychiatric events being observed in some patients that have taken Tamiflu and Relenza (antiviral medications used to minimize the symptoms of the flu).

When it comes to the flu, there are two aspects of concern. First…Are the medications safe? And second…Are the vaccines beneficial? Here are some of what’s been in the news and on the blogs recently.

Personally, I choose not to get the flu vaccine. In general, I just feel we are over vaccinated in this country. And maybe it’s just been a coincidence, but when I have gotten the flu vaccine, it seemed to exacerbate my already problematic medical conditions.

In documents prepared for the meeting next week and posted on the FDA’s Web site, agency staff recommended that Tamiflu’s label be strengthened to note: “In some cases, these behaviors resulted in serious injuries, including death, in adult and pediatric patients.”

The FDA staff also reviewed Relenza, a drug in the same class as Tamiflu, recommending its label be changed to note “reports of hallucinations, delirium and abnormal behavior” observed in some patients taking the drug. — Read Full Article

From a post at Nurse Tips – Health Headlines

Reports of neurological problems in children taking the flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza mean the medicines need a warning label on their packaging, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety review released Friday.

According to the Associated Press, the safety review follows 25 deaths among Tamiflu users under the age of 21, most of them occurring in Japan. In five cases, children fell from windows or balconies or ran into traffic, the AP said. — read full post

Then there is the issue of the Flu Vaccine…

CDC Facts about the Influenza (Flu) Vaccine

It seems the main controversy over the Flu Vaccine, has been over the possible adverse reactions to it. But equally as important, is discovering whether or not there is an actual benefit to this vaccine…And studies are now beginning to show, that the benefits may not be as great as we have been led to believe.

A new report has been released in which the effectiveness of flu vaccinations is queried. Focusing on their performance within the elderly, the report asserts that no data exists to suggest that yearly flu jabs prevent those involved from contracting significant illnesses in future years.

Those behind the report conceded that flu stood as an “important contributor” towards illnesses including emphysema and bronchitis. However, they added, no marked difference was noticed in the frequency of either condition within those that had had vaccinations, and those who passed on them. — Read Full Article

This is from Escaping To My Happy Place…

Offering a sharp critique of the evidence, the authors of the study offered several reasons for questioning the notion that flu immunization saves lives in the elderly population:

1. Even thought vaccination coverage among the elderly has increased from 15% to 65% since 1980, the overall mortality due to pneumonia and influenza in elderly people has increased in that period.

2. Few randomized, placebo-controlled trials have examined flu vaccine effectiveness in elderly people. The largest and best study, done in the Netherlands, showed a 50% reduction in confirmed flu cases among all the volunteers, but the reduction for those older than 70 was only 23%.

(Blogger’s Note: for regular folks, that still left only a 50% effectiveness. The flu vaccine has more listed side effects than any vaccine package insert I have ever read, including a host of respiratory problems such as ASTHMA)

There was no significant reduction in influenza-like illness. (Blogger’s Note – so you don’t get the flu, but you get flu-like. What a nice exchange!)

3. A number of investigators have reported finding evidence of flu vaccination benefits in the elderly by analyzing the records of large healthcare organizations. But these studies typically are flawed in that investigators looked for an effect on all-cause mortality, a nonspecific outcome, rather than on lab-confirmed flu.

4. Further, many such studies may be marred by a subtle selection bias, wherein relatively healthy older people were more likely to be vaccinated, thereby making vaccination look more beneficial than it really was.

More debate over the Flu Vaccine.

So…How do you feel about these latest findings? Do you get the Flu Vaccine? Why or why not? Are you concerned about the possibility of psychiatric problems related to the anti-viral medications used to treat the flu? Would you let your child take it if prescribed?

Vaccines, Antibiotics, and Antibacterial Cleaners: Are they helping or hurting us?

Germs, Viruses, and Vaccines — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

My last post was about germs and protecting yourself from them. For this post, I will be exploring why being “germ free” may actually be doing more harm than good. Let’s start by looking at the Antibacterial Cleaners that have become so popular in our “germ-a-phobe” society. Could it be that our fight against the “germ” is actually causing our lives to be “Too clean“, and possibly less healthy?

The problem with trying to eliminate germs, bacteria, and viruses from our lives, is that our immune systems need the opportunity to fight off these things. When we don’t use our immune system, we allow it to atrophy. And then, when we do become exposed to something it should be able to fight off, our immune system can forget what it’s suppose to do.

August Is National Immunization Awareness Month

image from

August is National Immunization Awareness Month and I was honored to be invited to participate in a phone conference sponsored by Revolution Health last week, for a discussion between other women health bloggers and an expert on immunizations. You can listen to the one hour conference here.

The discussion was very productive, and we were able to talk about a wide range of immunization topics, from childhood to adult with Dr. Stacy Stryer. The other women bloggers that participated in the conference were; Susan Wenner Jackson of (working moms against guilt), Christina Chew of AutismVox, Denise Tanton, my fellow contributing editor at BlogHer health and wellness, Aliza Sherman Risdahl from babyfruit, and Cynthia Samuals was the moderator.

Three Deaths Linked To Merck’s HPV Vaccine – Gardasil. Does the benefit really outweigh the risk?

Since my original post on the controversy surrounding the Gardasil vaccine, I have already added three updates. Recently I was made aware of new information released by the FDA regarding the more serious adverse reactions to this vaccine. Most upseting is the fact that at least three young girls have died within hours of receiving this controversial vaccine.

(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. Three deaths were 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. — read full article

As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities.

Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77% of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. — – read full article

What troubles me the most about this is; Parents understand that with all vaccines there will be a very small percent of people (in this case young girls) that will have an adverse reaction ending in death. The major difference is that vaccines like the MMR vaccines (given to our children to prevent Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) are essential in saving many lives from these highly contagious and often fatal diseases. So, the benefits of these vaccines most definitely outweigh the risks…(the small percent of serious adverse reactions with MMR vaccine is still only a tiny fraction of the amount of deaths we would see without this vaccine).

Unfortunately this is not the case with the HPV vaccine. I think if a parent thought that their daughter might die from a vaccine that has limited protection against a treatable (non life-threatening) virus, they might not see a benefit that outweighs that risk.