It's not what you think. I don't mean childhood vaccines - not really. I'm writing about the HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix. They're supposed to protect girls and women from two sexually-transmitted Human Papillomavirus (HPV) strains that cause cervical cancer (and two that cause warts - just for the heck of it). The recommendation of the vaccines’ manufacturers, Merck and Glaxo, is to give it to girls before they become sexually active. These companies have spent millions and millions of dollars promoting these vaccines because they stand to make billions and billions of dollars selling them.

This whole HPV vaccination thing sounded fishy to me from the very beginning. These vaccines are EXPENSIVE - anywhere from $400 to $1,000 for the three shot series. I guess timing is everything. Merck got its new HPV vaccine jammed through the FDA really fast - just in time to offset their Vioxx lawsuit losses. Vioxx, an arthritis drug manufactured and aggressively marketed by Merck, killed thousands of people before being pulled from the market.

These vaccines are way too expensive to use in developing countries where there are high rates of cervical cancer deaths and where they could revolutionize women's health. Instead, they are being promoted in wealthy countries where deaths from cervical cancer are very low due to Pap smear testing and effective, relatively inexpensive early treatment. Cervical cancer doesn't even make the American Cancer Society's Top 10 Deadliest Cancers List - or whatever they call it.

The truth is, nearly all women who die of cervical cancer in the US don't get regular Pap smears. Cervical cancer resulting from chronic HPV infections typically takes years to develop. In fact, most women will clear the virus on their own without intervention of ant kind. For those who don’t clear the virus, Pap smears can detect cellular changes before they ever develop into cervical cancer. The current treatments are highly successful at this early stage.

These HPV vaccines have been studied for no more than six years. We don't know how long the immunity lasts and whether booster shots will be required. We don't know the long-term effects of these vaccines. The girls getting the vaccines are, in effect, test subjects. The vaccines do have some known immediate side effects such as high rates of fainting, some blood clots and 20 deaths - so far.

We know the vaccines don’t provide complete immunity from all of the HPV strains known to cause cervical cancer. Some cancer causing strains are not even included in the vaccine. Vaccination may cause girls and women to have a false sense of security and forego Pap smears. As a result, deaths from cervical cancer in North America and Europe could actually rise. 

These vaccines are likely to drive up the cost of health care yet produce no actual benefit. Probably they will cause harm. The harmful effects could provide a market for more expensive drug treatments yet to be invented and tested on young girls. That’s what the drug manufacturers want, right? We may end up spending major bucks on the vaccines and the aftermath of their side effects, a similar amount to what we are already spending on Pap smears, and even more on treatment for cervical cancer, not to mention the financial and human costs if death rates from cervical cancer rise.

Merck and Glaxo have, of course, promoted these vaccines to doctors and nurses. Doctors can make thousands for giving a little speech that promotes the vaccine. In addition to direct advertising to consumers, Merck and Glaxo have also promoted the vaccines to legislators. 41 states have either mandated or are considering mandating the vaccines for school girls. Some states are considering mandating health insurers pay for it.

The Virginia governor signed the first bill in the US to require the vaccine for school girls two months after Merck announced it would spend $57 million to expand its plant in Elkton, VA to make the vaccine. Did I mention that Merck got a $700,000 grant from the state's economic development agency for the plant expansion? Four months later Merck announced it would plow an additional $193 million into the plant on the heels of another state grant of $1.5 million.

There's a similarly sleazy story about mandating the vaccine in Texas by executive order, but it was so sleazy the legislature quickly overturned it.

I could go on and on about this, but here's a link to a fabulous article in The New York Times about the vaccines. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate you decide...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/health/policy/20vaccine.html?pagewanted=1&ref=health