SC PIE - Feature Article

Merck pharmaceutical company stands to get filthy rich from their lobbying efforts to mandate young girls receive their new vaccine. Gardasil, Merck’s HPV vaccine, is marketed for prevention of 70% of the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

At least twenty state legislatures are considering a mandate for eleven year-old girls to be immunized against the sexually transmitted disease before school entry. Women in Government (WIG), a Washington based, bipartisan organization of female legislators, are leading the push to make HPV vaccinations compulsory in every state. Merck is listed on the women legislator’s website as a funding sponsor and it is widely understood that Merck is bankrolling WIG’s HPV vaccine promotion efforts across the country. The WIG campaign pressing for Merck’s vaccine began as early as January 2004. When the vaccine became licensed this summer, women legislators across the country were well-prepared to introduce legislation in their state that will bring billions of dollars into Merck’s bank account.

Women in Government’s website list State Directors for their HPV Vaccine Merck pharmaceutical company stands to get filthy rich from their lobbying efforts to mandate young girls receive their new vaccine. Gardasil, Merck’s HPV vaccine, is marketed for prevention of 70% of the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. At least twenty state legislatures are considering a mandate for eleven year-old girls to be immunized against the sexually transmitted disease before school entry. Women in Government (WIG), a Washingtonbased, bipartisan organization of female campaign. Rep. Joan Brady and Rep. Laurie Funderburk are listed as South Carolina’s State Directors. Rep. Brady is the author and Rep. Funderburk is a co-sponsor of South Carolina’s House Bill 3136, which will require state-sponsored HPV vaccines for all 11 year-old girls prior to entering school.

Merck admits on their HPV vaccine package insert that the duration for prevention is unknown. In clinical trials, the vaccine’s effectiveness was only followed for 4 years. Yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the incubation period for the HPV virus is about 20 years and the median age of women diagnosed with cervical cancer is 48. In other words, proof of cervical cancer prevention by vaccinating preteen girls is ungrounded.

Dr. Martin Meyers, Director of the National Network for Immunization Information says, “A lot of us are worried it’s a little early to be pushing a mandated HPV vaccine.” He also said “It’s not the vaccine community pushing for this.”

Disclaimers printed on the manufacturer’s package insert state that the vaccine has not been tested for its own ability to cause cancer. In addition, the effect on a woman’s reproductive capacity is unknown. What may happen to a whole generation of girls as they become women? No one knows if they will be able to have children after having received this vaccine.

Additionally, the vaccine is genetically engineered yet the manufacturer admits it has not tested the vaccine for genotoxicity (testing to see if the vaccine is toxic to our own human DNA).

Other alarming findings from the clinical trials found on Merck’s HPV vaccine package insert, includes “arthritic symptoms” occurring three times as often in subjects who got the vaccine. An increased risk of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA)—a deforming, devastating, lifelong disease—was proven in trials to be a three-fold risk increase. Many people would not trade even a 1 in 1,000 or 1 in 10,000 increased risk of JRA for partial protection against warts, which are usually the only effect of HPV.

Dr. Anne Francis, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee on vaccines says, “I believe that their [Merck’s] timing was a little bit premature,” she said, “so soon after [the vaccine’s] release, before we have a picture of whether there are going to be any untoward side effects.” Francis said it would be better to wait awhile before mandating the vaccine. She said she also was concerned about requiring a vaccine for a disease that is not communicable and so does not have a big public health impact.

A policy statement developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians says it was “premature to consider school entry mandates for HPV vaccine until such time as the long-term safety with widespread use, stability of supply and economic issues have been clarified.”

While Merck claims to have put the brakes on their lobbying efforts, the train left the station long ago and their efforts have nearly reached their intended destination.

Merck openly admits to increased health risks and unanswered questions in the vaccine package insert, but one has to wonder what they might not be telling the public. Unfortunately, this company has not been forthcoming in the past about adverse affects of their drugs when much less profit was involved. Merck is currently plagued by lawsuits for withholding critical safety information to doctors and patients about their popular painkiller drug Vioxx. Wouldn’t you want these questions answered before your daughter is given this vaccine?