Preview of my article on Changing Times about HPV vaccination.
The new HPV vaccine, Gardasil 9, which is mostly given to teenage girls, but also to boys, has been given federal approval in Australia.
The rollout came amid increased reports of deaths and dangerous injuries associated with HPV vaccination.
One major concern is that HPV vaccination may be causing causing premature ovarian failure (POF), which is also known as premature menopause, in adolescent girls.
Another is that here is more than twice as much aluminium in Gardasil 9 than in the original vaccination.
The Gardasil vaccinations contain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and its manufacturer, Merck, say they protects against cervical cancer.
Questions are being asked, however, about the efficacy of HPV vaccines – and whether cervical cancer is even caused by HPV.
The Australian sponsor of Gardasil 9 is the Merck subsidiary, Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Limited.
The European Commission granted a marketing authorisation for Gardasil 9, which is valid throughout the European Union, in June 2015 and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for use in the United States in December 2014. It is also already in use in New Zealand.
The original Gardasil vaccine contains LI protein from only four HPV types: 6, 11, 16, and 18. It is approved for use in 132 countries and, to date, more than 208 million doses have been distributed worldwide.
Gardasil was first given to teenage girls in Australia in 2007, and has been given to boys aged 13 to 15 since 2013. It was approved on June 16, 2006, for females aged from 9 to 26 years and males aged from 9 to 15 years.
Most of the Australian media leapt enthusiastically onto the story of the Gardasil 9 rollout with such headlines as “Schoolkids to get anti-cancer vaccine” and talk of protection against “almost all cervical cancers”.
The co-creator of the HPV vaccines, Ian Frazer, told reporters: “The new vaccine will make sure that even more people are protected against cancer.”
He added: “There’s a real prospect that over time, the viruses that cause the cancer will disappear from the community and the cancer will go too.”
Objectors to the rollout, and the use of Gardasil in general, point to the dangers of the vaccination and the fact that Lucy Turnbull, who is the wife of the Australian prime minister, is on the board of the biotechnology company Prima BioMed.
Ian Frazer used to be the head of Prima’s scientific advisory board and was last year appointed as chairman of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board.
Merck says its sales of Gardasil and Gardasil 9 in the second quarter of 2017 were worth 469 million dollars; an increase from 393 million dollars over the same period in 2016.
The company says Gardasil 9 will protect against nine types of the HPV virus: 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58.
It does state, however, that Gardasil 9 “does not eliminate the necessity for women to continue to undergo recommended cervical cancer screening” and those vaccinated “should not discontinue anal cancer screening if it has been recommended by a health care provider”.
In October last year, on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the US recommended that 11- to 12-year-olds receive two doses of HPV vaccine at least six months apart rather than the previously recommended three doses.
Teenagers and young adults who started the series of vaccinations later, at ages 15 to 26 years, would continue to need three doses of the HPV vaccine, the CDC said.
HPV vaccination is also given via the GlaxoSmithKline product Cervarix.
The FDA approved the marketing of Gardasil to females aged 9 to 26 in June 2006, and to males ages 9 to 26 in October 2009.
Adverse effects
There is widespread concern about adverse effects caused by the original Gardasil vaccination. They include paralysis, narcolepsy, respiratory dysfunction, cognitive impairment, involuntary movements, blood clots, and a rapid heartbeat. Concerns are amplified now that Gardasil 9 is being rolled out in yet another country.
Reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in the US relating to all HPV vaccination globally total 51,968 up to June this year. A total 41,829 were related to Gardasil and 5,337 to Gardasil 9.
A total 3,579 of the reports related to Cervarix, and this included 17 deaths, 74 cases of life threatening injury, and 226 cases of permanent disability.
A total 328 deaths were reported in relation to all HPV vaccination globally, including 266 that cited Gardasil and five that cited Gardasil 9. There were 834 reports of life threatening illness, and 2,011 cases of permanent disability.
The CDC points out that a report to VAERS “does not necessarily mean that the vaccine caused the reported adverse event – only that the adverse event happened sometime following vaccination”.
In Australia, 4,115 adverse reactions have been reported to the TGA since Gardasil was first used in the country.
Legal action over alleged side-effects from HPV vaccination has been taken in the US, France, Spain, and Denmark, and more than 250 cases are underway.
Plaintiffs have won damages in cases in the US and France.
Merck itself states in its “Warnings and Precautions” about Gardasil 9: “Because vaccinees may develop syncope¹, sometimes resulting in falling with injury, observation for 15 minutes after administration is recommended.
“Syncope, sometimes associated with tonic-clonic movements and other seizure-like activity, has been reported following HPV vaccination. When syncope is associated with tonic-clonic movements, the activity is usually transient and typically responds to restoring cerebral perfusion.”
In the “Post-Marketing Experience” section of the insert produced for Gardasil 9, Merck gives a disturbing list of possible side-effects.
The full article, with case histories, references to scientific studies, and information about the death of vaccine-injured Colton Berrett, can be read at https://tinyurl.com/y7subm85
- Syncope is better known as fainting. It is a temporary loss of consciousness, usually related to insufficient blood flow to the brain.