Federal government gives Univ. of Calif. $500K grant to promote STD vaccines to parents of teen girl
| Kirsten Andersen |  |
Fri Jul 26 20:51 EST | |
Bioethics |
The U.S. government may be trillions of dollars in debt, but it recently found $544,188 to give to a University of California researcher for a promotional campaign, disguised as a study, aimed at increasing the use of the controversial Gardasil vaccine by lower-income teens.
Gardasil is a vaccine to prevent Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. HPV is known to cause multiple types of cancers, including cervical, anal, penile, and throat cancer. Because of this link, Gardasil is often referred to as the “cervical cancer vaccine,’” but it does not prevent cancer cells from forming in the body. Instead, the vaccine prevents the four most common strains of HPV, out of an estimated 150 strains.
In part because the vaccine has been linked to dangerous and sometimes fatal reactions in young girls, sales have declined steadily since its introduction in 2006, despite the fact that thanks to an aggressive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign by vaccine manufacturer Merck, many states now require the vaccination before entering secondary school.
According to government statistics, Gardasil had been linked to 49 sudden deaths, 213 permanent disabilities, 137 reports of cervical dysplasia, 41 reports of cervical cancer, and thousands of adverse events reports
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