Renewed Debate over the HPV vaccine
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-15/renewed-debate-over-hpv-vaccine
During Tuesday’s CNN tea party presidential nominee debate two of the candidates sparred over perhaps an unlikely issue: the HPV vaccine. Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann criticized Republican Governor Rick Perry for signing an executive order in 2007 requiring middle school age girls in the state of Texas to have the vaccine – an order that was subsequently blocked by the Texas state legislature. Her comments renewed debate over the risks and benefits of the HPV vaccine …and what role, if any, the government should have with regard to who gets vaccinated. Diane and her guests discuss benefits and risks of the HPV vaccine.
Guests
Dr. Roberta DeBiasi
pediatric infectious diseases physician at Children’s National Medical Center
Peter Sprigg
vice president for policy at the Family Research Council
Liz Szabo
reporter, USA Today
Dr. Renata Sanders
adolescent Health
general pediatrics and adolescent medicine,
Johns Hopkins Children's Center
Program Highlights
The vaccination that adolescents, mostly girls, get to protect against the sexually transmitted HPV virus is, again, in the news. In a Republican debate, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann alleged the vaccine could have very dangerous side effects. She faulted Gov. Rick Perry for once pushing that all sixth grade girls be vaccinated.
The Political Firestorm
Republican GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry came under fire from his fellow candidates during a recent debate because he had put forward an executive order attempting to mandate the HPV vaccine for school entry. When the Texas legislature opposed the measure, he didn't pursue it. But the broaching of the subject at the debate was what prompted Bachmann's comments about the alleged link between the vaccine and mental retardation.
Lack of Supporting Evidence for Side Effects
Diane asked the guests if there were any reports that demonstrated links between the HPV vaccine and developmental disorders like autism. The guests agreed that there is no existing research demonstrating any such links or causation. "In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a statement discussing how the HPV vaccine has not been associated with mental retardation," Dr. Sanders said.
How HPV Works
According to Dr. Sanders, many people don't know that they have HPV, and it is often asymptomatic. About 90 percent of HPV infections clear naturally with no treatment in about 2 years. Dr. Debiasi noted that the virus is so common that about 50 percent of all sexually active people have some form of it. And Dr. Sanders pointed out that although the vast majority of cases resolve with no complications, there are some strains that are more likely to result in cancers, including some oral cancers.
Solutions Based in Behavior-Change
Sprigg makes a distinction between HPV and other viruses children are routinely vaccinated against, like measles and mumps. Sprigg says that since youth can protect themselves from HPV by abstaining from sexual contact, it is in a different category from the other diseases. Sprigg also believes that if a state does pass a law mandating vaccines, there should be an opt-in rather than opt-out system.
What is the Ideal Age-Range?
Dr. Sanders said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends catch-up immunization or vaccination against the HPV infection in 13- to 26-year-olds. She also pointed out that there are studies looking at whether or not it can be used in even older woman because there's a big need for evidence to show whether or not it's as effective in the older population as it is in the younger population. Dr. Dibiasi noted that some people aren't aware that the vaccine is safe for boys, too.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
QUESTION:
Why hasn't anyone talked about the benefits of using carrageenan as microbicide for HPV and herpes?!! It's cheap and effective!
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat...
It is pronounced GarDisil - not Gargisil
How do we protect the sexually abstinent girls who are rape victims? By vaccinating them along with the non-abstinent girls.
It is misleading to promote abstinence as preventive behavior. Both partners would have to be abstinent to make this work. A young woman who is a virgin can marry a man with a sexual history who can give her this virus. I know someone who had this situation. Vaccination at the optimal age is critical.
Abstinence is NOT 100% effective because it does not account for children who are raped or victims of sexual abuse.
Peter Sprigg is being very unreasonable when he vociferously advocates "abstinence-only". Abstinence isn't for everyone. Some young people find sex extremely enjoyable and not everyone is able to marry virgins.
Do we really have to stop and discuss every point raised by the dumb politicians in the race?
These fears are a product of poor science education in our country. People simply don't know how to think about and participate in conversations around science. Instead, we focus on the anecdotal accounts.
Is it known how long the protection from the vaccine lasts? I do understand the reasoning for recommending the vaccine for girls as young as 10 or 11, however I am wondering if the protection given by the vaccine is most effective for a certain number of years. And, if its effectiveness wanes, should there be consideration in the recommended age so that a sexually active female in her 20s will be protected?
Washing or using the seaweed extract, carrageenan, as a personal lubricant can kill potential HPV microbes--preventing infection. The FDA will approve some sort of carrageenan-based gel in the next couple of years...
We have the opportunity to eradicate cervical cancer in our lifetimes by vaccinating boys and girls against the HPV vaccine. It's funny we aren't celebrating that breakthrough. I suppose it's more emotionally energizing these days to be "against" something than to accept the scientific facts.
I am in my 40s and I contracted HPV in my 20s. I was raised not to have sex until marriage (though I failed), yet in my monogomous relationships I always used a condom until I married. I do not feel that my sex education, or perhaps our knowledge of the disease, was strong enough when I was in high school, for I did not understand that there were sexually transmitted diseases that could transmit without fluid contact (i.e. outside of ejaculation). I would like to see better sex education.
I am also concerned about mandates which put the burden of the vaccine on only one sex. If there's a mandate, it should be for both boys and girls.
In response to vaccine safety, I work with autistic children, whose parents are very concerned about vaccines. My hunch is that some children are genetically weak with processing toxins. I accept that vaccines are toxic, but most children can process them through without difficulty, and some are less able, which could account for post-vaccine issues, including, perhaps, increased autistic and other behaviors.
Good Morning,
My daughter is 11 years old and her pediatrician has been adamant about me getting her the HPV vacinated. However, after reading the literature her doctor gave me and hearing about the possible risks associated with HPV, I am confused about what is the right thing to do for her. Although I understand the benefits and the possible side affects, I would choose not to get the vacination for myself, however, for this reason I struggle with what kind of mother I would be, if I did not get her vacinated or did get her vacinated, knowing that I would not do so.
lizinindy wrote:
"We have the opportunity to eradicate cervical cancer in our lifetimes by vaccinating boys and girls against the HPV vaccine"
A noble goal, but completely unrealistic, unless you want to impose the vaccine worldwide.
My sons will get the vaccine. I have just watched my Uncle lose the love of his life to cancer. If there is something that could protect my kids from that fate, they will get it.
I am a Texas citizen putting up with Rick Perry; but besides that, in general let's keep Politics and Politicians out of these family and personal medical decisions. I am pro vaccine. The fact that the governor made this mandatory a few years ago simply clouded the positive, useful health benefits provided by this and future vaccines. Thank You Dian for having this panel.
Regarding the woman who has lost family members to head and neck cancer, first I want to offer sympathy. Also I want to offer education. She's likely thinking of the other use for the word "cervical". The HPV vaccine protects females from HPV infection that can cause cervical cancer - that means the cervix that's tested by a Pap test and only women can get it. The vaccine has no effect on cancer in the head and neck, which would be the other use of the word "cervical". Again, it's not a vaccine against cancer, only a vaccine against several types of the Human Papiloma Virus.
Is it fair to conclude from this discussion that:
1) It's smarter to get the vaccine than not (particularly for women)
2) No government entity should mandate it
?
Dear Diane,
I started listening to your show this morning on my way to work; I listen whenever possible.
HPV infection is considered only a necessary event (not sufficient in itself) in cervical cancers (CC). A vast majority of women with HPV infection do NOT develop CC. Also, the risk for CC increases sequentially with child-births; meaning that young girls in middle and high school have the lowest risk.
I just wonder who is the real beneficiary in all of this!
Abstinence doesn't work (just look at Sarah Palin's daughter as a case in point). In any case, I'm certain that HPV, like Herpes, can be transmitted orally, and a large *large* segment of the "semi-active" adolescent consider oral sex to be "safe" -- even more so at the earlier ages. Yes, they won't get pregnant, but they certainly aren't safe from STDs. My three year old daughter will be getting this vaccine as soon as her pediatrician thinks it is time to do so.
On a lighter note, the funniest comment I've heard about this whole thing, since she objected to the Texas mandate and wanted the option to opt-out, is that clearly Michele Bachmann is Pro-Choice.
Certainly the idea of protecting people against cancer is compelling. Anyone who has suffered the loss of a family member to cancer wants a way to prevent it (me included). As emotional and passionate as we might be, however, cervical cancer is actually an unlikely cause of illness and death for most people as compared to heart disease, lung cancer, and traffic accidents.
Application of the same public health care dollars and passion to combat these higher incidence diseases would actually save more lives of the people close to us.
I would prefer that my money go to prevention of higher risk diseases or on an air bag for my kids' first car.
On June 1, 2008 our 23 year old daughter Kristen Forbes passed away after a year long courageous battle with HPV caused cervical cancer. At the time we knew nothing about HPV and the availability of an effective vaccine against HPV. Kristen (and my wife and I) would have definitely opted for the HPV vaccination. Besides the loss of our wonderful child, the $300 cost would have prevented $ 400,000 in medical expenses for the insurance industry.
We have formed the Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation (kristeneve.org) to educate & screen, vaccinate and eradicate this horrible illness.
Chris...you need to do more research. Australia has vaccinated 87% of all their 11-12 year old girls. I doubt they would have put their entire youngsters at risk if they had even the slightest doubts about side effects. In addition there have been over 30,000,000 vaccinations. Several more countries are offering it to their young ladies for free. Maybe we should consider the same. I do agree that it should not be mandatory.
Kirk Forbes
Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation
A letter in writing from Dr. Markowitz at the CDC sent to me last week documents that there is NO EVIDENCE that Gardasil prevents cervical cancer. Post licensure studies that would prove the cancer preventing efficacy of Gardasil as a fast tracked vaccines with surrogate endpoints have not been done. So all of the hype on the broadcast by doctors with ties to Merck (which they did not disclose) about how the vaccine will prevent cervical cancer is completely unsupported by evidence. The devil is in the details; the doctors were superficial in their presentation.
The risks of a serious adverse event are REAL and according to experts (conveniently not contacted for the broadcast) the risk of a serious adverse event is greater than the risk of cervical cancer. MY DAUGHTER DIED FROM GARDASIL. No pre-existing conditions and no cause of death could be determined by autopsy.The CDC/FDA do not look into these deaths; no one even calls, not just in my case, but for any of us!
For more documentation/information go to www.gardasil-and-unexplained-deaths.com. Diane should really present both sides not just what Pharma wants you to hear. There is far more to this story.
I understand that abstinence is the best prevention for HPV, but isn't it true that a woman who has not participated in sexual activity before could get the disease from her husband if he had been sexually active in the distant past? Therefore wouldn't it be wise to be vaccinated even if you plan to be in a monogomous relationship?
I want to commend the speaker from the Family Research Council. If I recall correctly that is the group that usually has extreme positions and speakers who reflect those extreme views with crazy talking points. I heard a polite discussion and even a credible point that Bachmann's source could have been thinking of the wrong vaccination
I had had been married for a number of years & jointly monogamous for nearly a decade with my partner before that when I discovered I had cervical displasia & had to have the leap procedure. Turns out his ex-wife had had cervical cells removed as well, but he hadn't known that he was a carrier, because at the time he had questioned the dr closely & had been told that he didn't have to worry about it...so he never mentioned it. I could have gotten the quardasil vaccine when I was 22, at the outset of our relationship, but didn't, because we were monogamous, and he was acting on the best medical info he had @ the time. Guardasil is a great vaccine...and monogamy/abstinence isn't always the answer.
(Cont)
The poo-pooing of fears of mercury in vaccines are a study of Bush
Texas, Tea-Party Science- not one bit of science, just juvenile ad
hominem attacks on concerned Parents.
The decision to use Mercury preservatives in vaccines borders on
insanity, in my opinion, just one more example of the incredible
arrogance of "Scientists" particularly when driven by profits.
They will still not say if Mercury has been removed from kid vaccines,
no doubt because to admit removing them would be to admit that the fears
are justified.
There exists the perfect medical experiment to determine any relation
between Mercury and Autism by using the Refusers as a Control Group,
which they refuse to do.
I have been advocating against arsenic in poultry feed for nearly 25
years, yet after years of refusal to measure or admit measuring arsenic
residues and denying their effects, the FDA has finally "suggested"
stopping their use. Pfizer (quietly) is withdrawing the drug from the
market.
Incidentally, Difani, large-screen CRT Televisions emit mind-boggling
amounts of X-Radiation and a leaky seal on a microwave door can fry a
Pacemaker in an instant.
You must have noticed that there is recent growing evidence that Cell
Phone use may be dangerous, followed by new recommendations on their
use, followed by a Blackout on any more discussion of the matter.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 3:08:44 PM
I suggested this Comment to NPR recently, which was deleted, as usual.
"Michael Difani (emdee) wrote:
Decades ago it was tv sets, then microwave ovens and now it's Wi-Fi and
mobile phones (by 2015 some will project 3D holograms of callers) that
some dread; as the late Roseanneroseannadanna often said on SNL, "It's
always something..."
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 11:44:53 AM"
I'm not taking sides, but you ought to understand that we are subjected
to a constant Niagara of psuedo-scientific claptrap from richly rewarded
whores claiming to disprove numerous fears of dangers from materials,
processes and practices .
The last three years have been speckled with Oh, so quiet but radical changes in
practices and uses of ionizing and X-Radiation.
Profound changes in Mammography regimes, over-radiation of kids, in
particular, by whole body scans, X-Ray machines maladjusted by orders of
magnitudes and already backing away from Airport scanner use.
In spite of very sucessful anti-smoking campaigns, the promised
reductions in mortality and illness have not been realized.
The Pill and its relationship to Cancer and Heart Disease, after years
of back and forth, confirmation and denial, still not settled.
(Cont)
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
PS In spite of decades of aggressive vaccination against Flu (and Pneumonia), has there been any reduction in the deadly toll among the Elderly?
Absolutely it would be wise. If you read my comment below, you'll see that it's essentially what happened to me. My husband & I thought we didn't need the vaccine because we were monogamous, and because he'd been told (based on medical knowledge @ the time) that his ex-wife's precancerous cervical cells didn't have anything to do w/ him. So...he never told me about it, because he & his ex-wife's dr didn't know that there was a link between hpv & cervical cancer. So, even tho he & I could have been vaccinated when were were first dating in our early 20's, we weren't. Instead, when I began the relationship, I got my clean sexual bill of health, as did he, and that was that. I mentioned guardasil to my dr at least once, but was told I didn't need it, b/c of the aforementioned clean bill of health + monogamy. Fast forward a decade...and I'm getting the leap procedure done for cervical displaysia. (Sp?) So I would recommend it to anybody who can possibly get it, no matter their circumstances. I wish I'd insisted on the vaccine, because had I still contracted HPV, I'd feel better now knowing it (and all the misery of the biopsy, leap, etc) was inevitable & not an avoidable mistake.
I got the continuations of my Comment above in the wrong order. Sorry.
"cummingsag@yahoo.com wrote:
I took my daughter in for her second shot last month. We met only with the nurse, who asked when I was going to bring in my teen boys for the shot. "Afterall," she said, "Boys are the cause of this."
September 15, 2011 - 10:23 am"
Of course, it's the Boys fault. Where do you think the Boys get it??
I'll bet that, among Men and Women who engage in more or less casual sex, the Women have many more Partners than do the Men. If true, than it is the Females who are the real Typhoid Marys.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com