I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Gardasil Does Little To Reduce Cervical Cancer Rates
Two years ago I wrote an article about Gardasil and cervical cancer, claiming that the first gave little help to the second.
And yet the Gardasil train kept rolling on. Commercials scared the crap out of parents, certain their little girls were going to die from cervical cancer unless the vaccine was given immediately. Many were insistent that if you were hesitant about this new vaccine then it was because you were an anti-sex, anti-women wingnut. Blind faith in Gardasil to save women was certain.
Then one of the doctors who lead the Gardasil charge dropped a bombshell.
Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher in the development of two human papilloma virus vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, said the controversial drugs will do little to reduce cervical cancer rates and, even though they’re being recommended for girls as young as nine, there have been no efficacy trials in children under the age of 15.
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Dr. Harper began her remarks by explaining that 70 percent of all HPV infections resolve themselves without treatment within a year. Within two years, the number climbs to 90 percent. Of the remaining 10 percent of HPV infections, only half will develop into cervical cancer, which leaves little need for the vaccine.
She went on to surprise the audience by stating that the incidence of cervical cancer in the U.S. is already so low that “even if we get the vaccine and continue PAP screening, we will not lower the rate of cervical cancer in the US.”
There will be no decrease in cervical cancer until at least 70 percent of the population is vaccinated, and even then, the decrease will be minimal.
Apparently, conventional treatment and preventative measures are already cutting the cervical cancer rate by four percent a year. At this rate, in 60 years, there will be a 91.4 percent decline just with current treatment. Even if 70 percent of women get the shot and required boosters over the same time period, which is highly unlikely, Harper says Gardasil still could not claim to do as much as traditional care is already doing.
Which is kinda what I said two years ago. That most people who have HPV don’t get cancer from it, it’s not a certain if you get one you will get the other risk, and that making sure you get your annual PAP will do more to help you than the vaccine will.
But doing all of that doesn’t make Merck rich, which is the ultimate goal. Just like vaginal births make less money than c-sections do, so guess which one is pushed more, getting your PAP makes less money than paying out the nose for a vaccine. So the latter will be pushes more, regardless of the benefits to us.
