I'm surprised how many people are throwing out questions about safety and efficacy of Gardasil when obviously they themselves don't know the facts. So let me help you all out and give you the facts.
First: The clinical trials with Gardasil included 20,541 girls and young women between the ages of 16-26. Since Gardasil was released to the public over 2 years ago, over 5 million girls and young women in the U.S. have been vaccinated (you may visit www.cdc.gov to confirm this).
Second: YES, HPV is the ONLY way to get cervical cancer. Gardasil protects against 4 strains of HPV: 6,11,16 & 18. There are about 30 strains of HPV that can infect the genital tract. Of those, about 15 strains can cause cancer. Among THOSE strains, types 16 & 18 are responsible for 70% of ALL cervical cancers, as well as 50% of all mid-grade cervical dysplasias. HPV types 6 & 11 are responsible for 90% of genital warts and 35-50% of low-grade dysplasias.
Third: The efficacy of Gardasil for preventing diseases caused by HPV types 16 & 18 is 100%! The efficacy for protection against genital warts is 99%! Efficacy against all grades of cervical dysplasias caused by the 4 relevant HPV types is 95%!
Fourth: Yes, even with that medical miracle we call the PAP Smear, nearly 4,000 women in this country continue die every year from cervical cancer. In addition, the treatment for cervical HPV can result in an inability to carry a child to full term, partial or total hysterectomy, treatment with chemotherapy and radiation, and multiple follow up visits to the gynecologist.
Fifth: The 5-year efficacy data was published last year, which showed NO breakthrough disease in vaccinated subjects. It also showed that Gardasil demonstrated a very strong immune memory response, which means that after 5 years, when the HPV antigen was re-introduced, the antibody response was as high or higher than what it was immediately following completion of vaccination. To present a handfull of unproven, anecdotal ghost stories about alleged consequences of Gardasil vaccination is absolute fear mongering at it's best.
Lastly, take a look at the ingredients in this vaccine. It contains: Viral-like HPV proteins (these are proteins formed to look like the virus, but contain NO viral DNA and are powerless to cause any disease), an aluminum adjuvant, which is the same adjuvant used in the Hepatitis B vaccine that we've used in this country for almost 30 years, some sodium chloride (saline), the amino acid L-Histidine, polysorbate, sodium borate and water. There are no antibiotics and no preservatives.
PLEASE, get the facts and stop participating in this foundation-less gossip. It's ridiculous to think that the only women who die of cervical cancer in this country are the town hookers. Your daughters can be abstinent until they are married, but if they marry a man who is not a virgin, then they are still at risk. All these scare tactics do is prevent people from making educated health choices.
Gardasil FACTS
I'm surprised how many people are throwing out questions about safety and efficacy of Gardasil when obviously they themselves don't know the facts. So let me help you all out and give you the facts.
First: The clinical trials with Gardasil included 20,541 girls and young women between the ages of 16-26. Since Gardasil was released to the public over 2 years ago, over 5 million girls and young women in the U.S. have been vaccinated (you may visit www.cdc.gov to confirm this).
Second: YES, HPV is the ONLY way to get cervical cancer. Gardasil protects against 4 strains of HPV: 6,11,16 & 18. There are about 30 strains of HPV that can infect the genital tract. Of those, about 15 strains can cause cancer. Among THOSE strains, types 16 & 18 are responsible for 70% of ALL cervical cancers, as well as 50% of all mid-grade cervical dysplasias. HPV types 6 & 11 are responsible for 90% of genital warts and 35-50% of low-grade dysplasias.
Third: The efficacy of Gardasil for preventing diseases caused by HPV types 16 & 18 is 100%! The efficacy for protection against genital warts is 99%! Efficacy against all grades of cervical dysplasias caused by the 4 relevant HPV types is 95%!
Fourth: Yes, even with that medical miracle we call the PAP Smear, nearly 4,000 women in this country continue die every year from cervical cancer. In addition, the treatment for cervical HPV can result in an inability to carry a child to full term, partial or total hysterectomy, treatment with chemotherapy and radiation, and multiple follow up visits to the gynecologist.
Fifth: The 5-year efficacy data was published last year, which showed NO breakthrough disease in vaccinated subjects. It also showed that Gardasil demonstrated a very strong immune memory response, which means that after 5 years, when the HPV antigen was re-introduced, the antibody response was as high or higher than what it was immediately following completion of vaccination. To present a handfull of unproven, anecdotal ghost stories about alleged consequences of Gardasil vaccination is absolute fear mongering at it's best.
Lastly, take a look at the ingredients in this vaccine. It contains: Viral-like HPV proteins (these are proteins formed to look like the virus, but contain NO viral DNA and are powerless to cause any disease), an aluminum adjuvant, which is the same adjuvant used in the Hepatitis B vaccine that we've used in this country for almost 30 years, some sodium chloride (saline), the amino acid L-Histidine, polysorbate, sodium borate and water. There are no antibiotics and no preservatives.
PLEASE, get the facts and stop participating in this foundation-less gossip. It's ridiculous to think that the only women who die of cervical cancer in this country are the town hookers. Your daughters can be abstinent until they are married, but if they marry a man who is not a virgin, then they are still at risk. All these scare tactics do is prevent people from making educated health choices.