News

Wednesday February 24, 2010


Health Canada Approves Controversial HPV Vaccine For Males

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

OTTAWA, February 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Vaccine manufacturer Merck Frosst Pharmaceutical announced yesterday that they have approval from Health Canada for the use of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil in boys and young men.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world, though, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), few people who have contracted the infection ever experience symptoms.

Gardasil was approved by Health Canada in 2006 for females between the ages of nine and 26, with the goal of preventing cervical cancer and genital warts. In males the same age group is targeted, with the intent of combating genital warts and anal cancer.

The U.S. government watchdog agency Judicial Watch, which has tracked the use of the vaccine since it was approved by the FDA, has repeatedly raised concerns over the safety of Gardasil and questions both the safety and usefulness of administering the vaccine to males.

“HPV can lead to cervical cancer in women, but in men the most common complaint is genital warts. Although genital warts are contagious and can cause discomfort and embarrassment, they are usually not serious,” a report from Judicial Watch states.

“Also, according to a briefing document provided to the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), only ‘~1% of all sexually active adults in the U.S.’ has genital warts. Given the extremely low number of males who experience complications from HPV, it is worth questioning whether the vaccine is necessary for males at all.”

Judicial Watch also notes that “the VRBPAC briefing document shows that Gardasil is only 67.2% effective for men, and for men who have been exposed to HPV, the efficacy rate is only 23.2%.”

Commenting on the unresolved benefit of Gardasil immunization, Dr. François Coutlée, a clinical researcher at the Molecular Virology Laboratory, CHUM – Hôpital Notre-Dame, who has been researching the use of Gardasil in men, told CTV.ca that most people who get genital warts will eventually fight off the infection without medical intervention.

“For most individuals who develop genital warts, it’s just a matter of time when their bodies will fight it off. It can take six months, two years, three years,” Dr. Coutlée said. “But for 95 per cent of individuals, the immune system will fight off the infection.”

Dr. Coutlée also noted that those who have successfully fought off infection with one strain of HPV can still be infected again by another strain.

“Infection with multiple types at the same time is a possibility,” he said. “Even if you’ve been infected with one type doesn’t mean you can’t be infected by another type. And there are about 40 genital types around. So lots of genital types.”

According to Merck, Gardasil is designed to affect only four of the more than 100 strains of HPV.

In addition, the vaccine has already proven to be extremely dangerous to girls and women.

According to the FDA’s Clinical Review, released in September 2008, 85.9% of girls aged 9 -17 experienced adverse events after receiving the Gardasil vaccine, while 92.5% of women aged 18 – 26 experience adverse events. The report also found that “there was only an 18.4%…reduction of any HPV related lesions (that could lead to cervical cancer) in the entire study population.”

Judicial Watch reports that in the period between May and September 2009, Gardasil vaccinations resulted in 1,510 adverse event reports being filed, of which 19% were classified as “serious”, 40 cases were life threatening, 77 cases resulted in permanent disability, and 8 deaths were reported, making the total number of deaths connected to Gardasil vaccinations 55.

More information on HPV vaccines is available on Judicial Watch’s Gardasil Investigation page.


Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage and articles:

Gardasil Researcher Admits Vaccine May Be More Dangerous than the Disease

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/oct/09102903.html

Controversial HPV Vaccine Causing One Death Per Month: FDA Report

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070316.html

Why Medical Authorities Cannot be Trusted on Gardasil HPV Vaccine By Gwen Landolt

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121905.html