Vaccine Blog

I’m back, with a new installment about health and the news. Most everyone now has heard of Gardasil and the controversy it has caused in many states, particularly Texas. Those of you that know my opinions well may remember that I was very skeptical of this vaccine against HPV when it first was advertised. I still am skeptical. But I’ve been following stories about HPV, Gardasil, and cervical cancer for the past few months, and I thought a good blog summarizing new findings about the three would do some good.

Well, there has been some bad news about Gardasil. Earlier this year, FDA data on the vaccine was published, reporting 1,637 adverse reactions to the vaccine, 136 of them serious. The majority of the reactions were itchiness at the site of injection, and other common reactions to vaccines in general. Among the more serious reactions, 18 pregnant women had birth defects or miscarriages, though the total number of pregnant women taking the vaccine was not given at the link, and scientists do not know if Gardasil caused the problems. Three people have also died, though most likely by underlying medical conditions. Since 2-3 million women have received the vaccine, this seems pretty trivial. Though it seems there are more problems in Australia. So my skepticism may still prove good.