HPV vaccine needs more testing before I let my daughter have it

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HPV vaccine needs more testing before I let my daughter have it

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The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Monday, December 03, 2007

Re: Half Ontario parents refuse HPV vaccine: health official, Nov. 22.

I am one of those parents who refused the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

for my daughter in Grade 8 in the Ontario vaccine program that started this

fall. I also found out from other parents that the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic

School Board had refused this vaccine for moral reasons.

I understand that the intent of the vaccine is to protect girls against

cervical cancer. I am concerned that this vaccine has not been tested long

enough

to warrant a mass vaccination program.

 

Critics have expressed concerns about side-effects of the HPV vaccine,

writes Marie Marcotte.

 

Abby Lippman has argued that cervical cancer is not an epidemic. Ms.

Lippman, a professor of epidemiology at McGill University, with colleagues,

conducted a review of the current literature on the HPV vaccine. The results are

summarized in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. They found that the

vaccine can be effective in preventing certain types of the HPV infections but

it

is not clear whether this will translate to fewer cervical cancer deaths in

the long run. They also found that the clinical trials of Gardasil did not

comprise a large number of girls, and it was conducted for only 18 months.

Gardasil also is an expensive vaccine, $404 for the required three doses.

With so many uncertainties with this vaccine, I don't understand how the

government can justify putting aside $300 million for this mass vaccination

program.

Critics including the National Vaccination Information Center, have accused

Merck of fast-tracking the vaccination without being totally up-front about

its possible side-effects. The centre's president Barbara Loe Fisher warns

that Merck does not know the long term side-effects of this vaccine. Ms. Fisher

raises concerns of the girls developing problems such as arthritis or other

inflammatory autoimmune and brain disorders.

Gardasil contains 225 mcg of aluminum per shot. Aluminum can enter the

brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to fatigue

and

chronic joint and muscle pain.

I feel that more research should be done in relation to this vaccine. We

need to take charge of our health and face the facts that it is our lifestyle

that is affecting our health, and we have control over that. We do not have

control over side-effects from vaccines.

Marie Marcotte, Ottawa

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007