Would you get your daughter this vaccine?

Question

An approval from recently came down that offers a vaccine to girls as young as 9 years that would prevent them contracting HPV, which has shown to have a direct link to cervical cancer. Would you get your 9 year old have the vaccine? When would you get her the vaccine?

Answer 1

probably be mandatory soon, anyway

Answer 2

Yes, and as early as recommended. Any woman who has not had an abnormal pap smear should be able to get it as well, and should get it. No, not every case of an abnormal pap is HPV, and not every abnormal pap turns into cervical cancer, but we're all exposed to alot worse toxins on a daily basis than could ever be in a vaccine that may save your or your daughters life one day.

Sorry, men aren't any more of an angelic creature than women are, the statistics speak for themselves, and it does not take sexual intercourse to transmit HPV. By the time she's sexually active can be too late. You can pick up HPV anywhere. Just think about how many things you can touch on a daily basis and how many germs and virii you encounter... then the fact most people are less than sanitary. You could probably even give yourself HPV (if you take my meaning) just from the filth in day to day living.

Answer 3

I would absolutely get it and have my daughters get it. as a vaccine, it prevents her system from falling ill with whatever it is preventing. if she has it early enough, it will prevent her from catching it. if you wait too long, it could be too late to get it, and might not work as well. Cervical cancer is preventable, and curable, but still a cancer. it is still dangerous and life threatening.

HPV is genital warts. It does not take intercourse to contract them. it is also very painful to get rid of them once she gets them (tho, getting warts does not mean that she will get cervical cancer, but she can get the cancer from HPV.... Kind of strange.... )

if her doctor says to get the vaccine, then get it. Too bad they don't have a vaccine for HIV or AIDS. Maybe someday.....

Answer 4

I would. Girls are sneaky! So go ahead and give it to them when they're young. They wo't be able to tell the difference between all the other vaccines they have to get. Plus with all the disgusting nasty men out there who take advantage of little girls every night it should be mandatory. I know that morbid but it's reality. You hear about that all the time.

Answer 5

I did. She's already had it. She's 13. I don't know about a 9 year old. I've never heard that. 12 or 13 is the age they've been starting to give it. It has to be given before they become sexually active. I know, I've heard it--"my daughter would never...." But it happens every day. Kids are having sex younger and younger and they have NO knowledge of what they are getting themselves into.

Answer 6

my daughter is 10 and i would love to get her this vaccine. wouldn't mind just waiting a tad bit cuz i think canada will eventually cover it. the vaccine in expensive. i think $130.00 or $150.00. remember, there are other types of cervical cancer. this vaccine only covers one type of cervical cancer.

Answer 7

I've been watching all these ads on TV telling people to find out about GARDASIL. And then I read that Merck was lobbying for this vaccine to become mandatory. Then I saw that the Texas governor is making this vaccine mandatory in Texas for preteens. So I finally decided to look into it.

Here's the scoop:

1) GARDASIL is a vaccine for 4 strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), two strains that are strongly associated (and probably cause) genital warts and two strains that are typically associated (and may cause) cervical cancer. About 90% of people with genital warts show exposure to one of the two HPV strains strongly suspected to cause genital warts. About 70% of women with cervical cancer show exposure to one of the other two HPV strains that the vaccine is designed to confer resistance to.

2) HPV is a sexually communicable (not an infectious) virus. When you consider all strains of HPV, over 70% of sexually active males and females have been exposed. A condom helps a lot (70% less likely to get it), but has not been shown to stop transmission in all cases (only one study of 82 college girls who self-reported about condom use has been done). For the vast majority of women, exposure to HPV strains (even the four "bad ones" protected for in GARDASIL) results in no known health complications of any kind.

3) Cervical cancer is not a deadly nor prevalent cancer in the US or any other first world nation. Cervical cancer rates have declined sharply over the last 30 years and are still declining. Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1% of of all female cancer cases and deaths in the US. Cervical cancer is typically very treatable and the prognosis for a healthy outcome is good. The typical exceptions to this case are old women, women who are already unhealthy and women who don't get pap smears until after the cancer has existed for many years.

4) Merck's clinical studies for GARDASIL were problematic in several ways. Only 20,541 women were used (half got the "placebo") and their health was followed up for only four years at maximum and typically 1-3 years only. More critically, only 1,121 of these subjects were less than 16. The younger subjects were only followed up for a maximum of 18 months. Furthermore, less than 10% of these subjects received true placebo injections. The others were given injections containing an aluminum salt adjuvant (vaccine enhancer) that is also a component of GARDASIL. This is scientifically preposterous, especially when you consider that similar alum adjuvants are suspected to be responsible for Gulf War disease and other possible vaccination related complications.

5) Both the "placebo" groups and the vaccination groups reported a myriad of short term and medium term health problems over the course of their evaluations. The majority of both groups reported minor health complications near the injection site or near the time of the injection. Among the vaccination group, reports of such complications were slightly higher. The small sample that was given a real placebo reported far fewer complications -- as in less than half. Furthermore, most if not all longer term complications were written off as not being potentially vaccine caused for all subjects.

6) Because the pool of subjects were so small and the rates of cervical cancer are so low, NOT A SINGLE CONTROL SUBJECT ACTUALLY CONTRACTED CERVICAL CANCER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM -- MUCH LESS DIED OF IT. Instead, this vaccine's supposed efficacy is based on the fact that the vaccinated group ended up with far fewer cases (5 vs. about 200) of genital warts and "precancerous lesions" (dysplasias) than the alum injected "control" subjects.

7) Because the tests included just four years of follow up at most, the long term effects and efficacy of this vaccine are completely unknown for anyone. All but the shortest term effects are completely unknown for little girls. Considering the tiny size of youngster study, the data about the shortest terms side effects for girls are also dubious.

8) GARDASIL is the most expensive vaccine ever marketed. It requires three vaccinations at $120 a pop for a total price tag of $360. It is expected to be Merck's biggest cash cow of this and the next decade.

These are simply the facts of the situation as presented by Merck and the FDA. This vaccine was just approved in June, 2006. It was never tested on pre-teens except in a tiny trial run with at most 18 months of follow up. Even if we subscribe to the theory that HPV causes cervical cancer, there is ZERO hard data showing that this vaccine reduces cervical cancer rates or cervical cancer mortality rates, which are both already very low in the US and getting lower every year. Now Texas has already made this vaccine mandatory for middle school with all sorts of useful idiots and Big Pharma operatives clamoring for more states to make this vaccine COMPULSORY immediately.

Has everyone gotten the picture or should I continue?

Answer 8

Why wouldn't you? As far as your daughter is concerned, it's a vaccine to prevent a disease. She need not know that the principal means of infection is thru sexual intercourse.

Skip the idealogy, save people.

Answer 9

I don't know if I would let her get it at 9, but maybe once she has been in puberty for awhile. Anything we can do to prevent female cancers is a good thing!

Answer 10

I would talk with my children's doctor and do what they would recommend. If it a vaccine that will help my daughter them yes I will give it to her when she's old enough.

Answer 11

Yes! Why wouldn't you? If it is going to possibly safe her life one day. I don't think it matters how old she is, you don't have to tell her what it is for, just tell her she needs to go get a shot. It will be better for her and also give you a piece of mind knowing that is one less thing you have to worry about happening to her.