By Cate Nelson •
June 16, 2009
The FDA has ordered the manufacturer of Gardasil, Merck, to add a few more side effects to the HPV vaccine’s label: fainting, tonic-clonic (jerking) movements, and “seizure-like” reactions.
The FDA suggests that physicians talk to patients about these risks. They also suggest that girls remain at the doctor’s office for 15 minutes after receiving the shot so their reactions can be monitored.
Lay down for 15 minutes in case of seizure or fainting.
But is “laying down” the right prescription for this vaccine?
By Derek Markham •
March 8, 2009
Both Gardasil and Menactra vaccines are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for grade school through college aged children, but according to the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Gardasil has been implicated in many more adverse reactions than Menactra, raising plenty of questions about its safety.
“Merck only studied the vaccine in fewer than 1200 girls under age 16 and most of the serious health problems and deaths in the pre-licensure clinical trials were written off as a ‘coincidence.’ If the new Administration and Congress want to make government recommended health care safer, more effective and less expensive, a good place to start is by looking into the human and economic costs of Gardasil vaccine.” - Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC co-founder and president
By Cate Nelson •
February 9, 2009
I have a 13-year-old girl in my house. And she won’t be getting the Gardasil shot.
No, I’m not one of those parents who believes that the HPV shot will encourage sexual behavior. The boredom and pressures of being a teen will take care of that, thank you very much.
By Jessica Gottlieb •
August 22, 2008
Recently I was invited to a perfectly civilized barbecue and managed to find myself screaming the words, “how dare you punish your children with cancer because you’re afraid of sex!” Screaming back at me was, “What about the deaths?” Huh? What deaths?
I am, by all accounts, a deeply flawed woman, and had the hostess been anyone other than who she is, she might have decked me. Some of these parenting issues become hot buttons before we realize it. The immunization debates rankle many. I live in a neighborhood where illegal immigrants with unknown backgrounds routinely care for young children. I see childhood vaccines as prudent. I understand waiting a few extra months, but skipping them altogether seems foolhardy to me.
The FDA has ordered the manufacturer of Gardasil, Merck, to add a few more side effects to the HPV vaccine’s label: fainting, tonic-clonic (jerking) movements, and “seizure-like” reactions.
