Vaccine Roll-Out Is Wrong Without Honest Advice

Widespread use of the Gardasil vaccine should not be encouraged unless young women and parents are given honest advice, including information that Gardisil is being linked to serious negative reactions amongst teenagers in the U.S. 

GE Free NZ is highly concerned over reports of death and immune reaction linked to the Gardasil vaccine overseas. 

U.S.scientists are arguing about whether Gardasil has caused significantly more adverse reactions when compared to other vaccines given at a young age, according to CBS News.

A batch of the vaccine has also been withdrawn in Spain after two women receiving it were hospitalised.

“Gardasil is made with GE virus-like proteins (VLP) that are obviously not the same as the HPV proteins and only resemble them," said Claire Bleakley, President of GE Free NZ in food and environment. "This raises the possibilty of allergic reactions and changes in the immune system.This may explain why parents in the US are raising the alarm, but they are not being taken seriously".

"Promoting the vaccine as a way to stop cervical cancer raises serious ethical issue if the vaccine's long term effectiveness is outweighed by harmful reactions," said Jon Carapiet spokesperson for GE Free NZ (in food and environment).

"The medical argument should be settled before potential users can be given honest advice and are able to weigh the personal risks against the hoped-for public health benefits". 

From June 2006 to August 2008 the Centre for Disease Control in the US (CDC) Vaccine event reporting system (VAERS) reported a total of 10,326 people suffered adverse reactions including 11 deaths, all after receiving the vaccine. 6% reported experiencing anaphylactic allergic reactions and serious adverse events that involved disability and life-threatening illness. [1][2]

It is wrong to undertake a widespread launch of this vaccine without facts that allow young people and parents to consider the risks of multiple sexual relations and of the vaccine itself, as well as the likelihood that health benefits will be lost as other variants of the Human Papilloma Virus expand.

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