Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on September 19, 2011
Gardasil – VAERS – injection – Merck – sexually transmitted disease – mandatory vaccine
I received an email yesterday that inspired me to do a little research. I quote an excerpt here: URGENT ACTION ITEM: CALL Governor Jerry Brown at (916) 445-2841 and urge him to VOTE NO to allowing 12 year old children to get Gardasil, hep B and other future vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases without the knowledge or consent of parents.
The red flag on this issue was without the knowledge or consent of parents. What does someone want to foist on my kid now?
Gardasil is the vaccine, developed and sold by Merck, which became a hot topic in the Republican debate the other night. I wanted to know what this Gardasil was, and how it affects children. If the state legislature is reviewing a bill that would ignore the issue of informed consent, there is something stinky about the whole thing.
It seems that the statistics are difficult to pin down. Somewhere between 20 and 68 children have died as a result of this vaccine. The side effects alone may be enough to scare most parents away. But when if the government puts in into place as a mandatory vaccine (as Governor Perry helped do in Texas) then parents aren’t given a choice.
Even if I were concerned about HPV or cervical cancer, I doubt that I would ask our pediatrician for the vaccine when my daughter reaches 12 years of age. If I wanted her to receive such a vaccine, it might be because I expected her to be sexually active. Since she is developmentally delayed, and she is under close supervision 100% of the time, I can be fairly certain she won’t be exposed to HPV.
One of the best articles I have found on the issue is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030802331.html
But the article is over a year old, and there have been many reports on VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) since then. So do your own research and decide for yourself. And then, please consider telling your governor (at least 39 states have tried to pass similar legislation) not allowing Merck to make decisions without you.
Another note: the vaccine runs around $120 per injection, and there are three injections required for the series to work Just another thing the taxpayers need heaped upon our debt?