Gardasil

Gardasil is a vaccine that protects girls and women from HPV infection. Campaigns to inoculate schoolgirls with the vaccine have attracted an immense outcry of criticism, particularly from conservatives.

Gardasil is a controversial vaccine, recently made available by Merck to prevent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) in girls and women ages 9 to 26.

The major point of contention surrounds whether to make the vaccine mandatory.

Proponents praise it as the first vaccine against cancer. Opponents say it will lead to sexual disinhibition.

These strains of HPV are sexually transmitted diseases that are endemic among promiscuous people and have been associated with 70% of cervical cancer cases. They may also play a role in the development of other types of cancer . In June 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first HPV vaccine without reviewing any epidemiological studies and monitoring for only a brief period the elevated antibody levels in recipients of the vaccine. The HPV vaccine does not protect against other sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, AIDS, etc.). The vaccine is not recommended for use in pregnant women or girls.

The long-term consequences of the HPV vaccine are unknown as there have not been any long-term studies. Children in the 9-year-old age group have been monitored for 18 months, and there have been no studies of possible longer-term risks of the vaccine. Between July 2006 and January 2007, there were 82 reports of adverse events filed with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following the receipt of the vaccine.

A study published February 28, 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) disclosed that about 3% of women are infected in their lifetime by the particular types of HPV (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) targeted by the vaccine. Merck manufactures the HPV vaccine ("Gardasil") and sells it for $360 ($120 per shot in a three-shot series). Its package insert explains the limitations of the vaccine and describes its testing for safety and efficacy.

The cost for buying and administering the three-dose vaccine is about $500 per child. Accordingly, the cost of vaccinating 100 children will be about $50,000, but only 3 out of that 100 will ever be exposed to the HPV types targeted by the vaccine.^{[Citation Needed]} The average age of diagnosis of cervical cancer is 48 years old. Accordingly, the cost is $15,000 to $50,000 per child to possibly protect her against a cancer over 30 years in the future. There is not yet a clear plan in place for funding this vaccine. Despite the high cost and low prevalance, many states have pending legislation that would require schoolgirls to receive the vaccine.

Alternative means of protection against cervical cancer include abstinence (most effective), and early detection via pap smear (effective if done regularly, but only detects infection or precancerous changes. It does not prevent infection, but can prevent progression from infection to cancer) . The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Texas Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics do not support making this vaccine mandatory.

Dr. Jon Abramson, a member of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices, said in a report published in the Washington Times that "I told Merck my personal opinion that it shouldn't be mandated. And they heard it from other committee members."

Many girls who receive the shot say that it is the most painful of all injections they get, and that the vaccine itself burns, unlike the "other shots [that] tend to hurt only at the moment of the needle stick, and not after the vaccine plunges in." Many girls have been known to pass out as indicated in the vaccination's package insert.

A list of pending statutes in NJ for the HPV vaccine is here.

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