What Could Happen?
Well, you could be one less. And not in the way that Merck means it. You could die in the prime of your young life, as
these women have. But, more likely you could develop a chronic and debilitating autoimmune condition,
primary ovarian failure, or bizarre neurological impairments such as the now documented
POTS syndrome. I personally have seen patients with new onset mania and psychosis, as well as debilitating and treatment resistant depression.
Even the
package insert itself declares a rate of 2.5%
serious adverse events, and that is only within the 15 day trial monitoring period. That’s 2,500 life-altering events per 100,000 women.
Lucija Tomljenovic, PhD, poses this important question:
“Is it ethical to put young women at risk of death or a disabling autoimmune disease at a pre-adolescent age for a vaccine that has not yet prevented a single case of cervical cancer, a disease that may develop 20-30 years after exposure to HPV, when the same can be prevented with regular Pap screening which carries no risks.”
Given this, it is all the more harrowing that we are living in a legislative climate that puts profits before our children’s health. In many states across the nation, bills are hitting the floor that seek to eliminate the ethical principle of informed consent by allowing children as young as 12 to receive the HPV vaccine without parental oversight.
Inform yourself, find your compass, so that you can be
one less woman, wishing she had only known more.
The New Gardasil: Is It Right For Your Daughter?
