While the CDC provides a recommended vaccine schedule, the states actually create mandatory vaccine and drug policies. Merck, which had the support of nine different organizations, planned an aggressive roll out for Gardasil. Merck also had the support of some politicians who moved even quicker than ACIP. In February 2007, Governor Rick Perry bypassed the legislature and mandated Gardasil for all eleven- and twelve-year-old girls in Texas. Merck revenues from Gardasil in the second quarter of 2006 began to climb: $70 million in the third quarter and $155 million in the fourth quarter. The year 2007 was a blockbuster during which Gardasil recorded revenues of $ 1.5 billion. [1] Perry’s mandate for the HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer for every sixth-grade girl in Texas would have increased Merck’s coffers by millions of dollars. Merck, the manufacturer of the said vaccine, had contributed a huge amount of money to Perry’s political campaign. At that time, the governor’s chief of staff was a senior Merck employee. [2] In April 2007, the Texas Legislature wisely repealed Perry’s mandate.

Just in the first two years after Gardasil was approved, according to Judicial Watch, it was responsible for about 10,326 reports adverse events, and accounted for about twenty percent of reactions reported to VAERS in 2007-2008 according to Barbara Loe Fisher, co- founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center. [3] There were at least ten spontaneous abortions and six cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The FDA and Merck claimed that these events were merely a “coincidence” and dismissed the VAERS reports as irrelevant regarding a causal link, despite whatever connection that those who reported the events might have thought. The FDA and Merck, instead of seriously accepting the reports, declared that there was “no proof.” There have been numerous cases of genital and other warts following an HPV vaccination. Frequently, vaccines cause the very malady that they are supposed to prevent. [4]

By June 30, 2008, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) showed 8,864 cases of adverse effects experienced by people after receiving the Gardasil vaccine. VAERS reports indicate that at least eighteen people have died after receiving Gardasil. [5] On September 12, 2008, the FDA approved of Gardasil for the “prevention of vaginal and vulvar cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 in girls and women ages nine to twenty-six, as recommended by Jesse L. Goodman, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). HPV refers to over 100 viruses and over thirty types that may be transmitted by sexual contact. The CDC states that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and that 6.2 million Americans are infected with genital HPV every year. [6]

In July 2009, VAERS issued a report admitting that Gardasil, which was only tested on adult women and not against a true placebo, was more likely to produce 400 times more adverse reactions in the same age group than an anti-meningitis vaccine. By September 1, 2009, Merck had distributed twenty-six million doses of Gardasil nationwide. By that time, according to the CDC, people had reported 15,000 adverse events to VAERS. Yet, on October 16, 2009, the FDA approved of Gardasil for boys and men nine through twenty-six years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). [7] In January 2010, just before the adverse events had grown to 18,000, Merck announced that it had appointed Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC Director (2002-2009) when Gardasil was approved, as President of Merck Vaccines. [8] As of May 31, 2010, Gardasil had distributed over sixty-five million doses of Gardasil worldwide. [9]

By September 28, 2010, VAERS has received over 18,000 Gardasil-related adverse events, in addition to sixty-five deaths. Fewer than ten percent of the people actually report adverse reactions so the number could be much higher. [10] The FDA said there was “no evidence of association between Gardasil and reported deaths.” [11] HPV is typically a sexually transmitted infection, and cervical cancer is an “obscure killer confined mostly to poor nations.” [12] On October 25, 2011, the ACIP recommended routine use in 11-12-year-old adolescent males. [13]

By November 17, 2010, there were 20,978 reports of adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine and eighty-nine deaths. The FDA, as of 2010, had not issued an opinion on these statistics. The DHHS conceded that there was an HPV vaccine injury-related case on October 5, 2010. [14] There were deaths even during the clinical trials. A very small percentage of people, perhaps one percent, actually report adverse reactions. On December 22, despite the adverse events, the FDA approved of Gardasil to prevent anal cancer after conducting a randomized, controlled trial of men who self-identified as having sex with men. [15]

The three doses of Gardasil cost patients $360 (list price) which translates into millions for Merck, a virtual windfall. The total cost is usually $400 to $1,000 if one visits a doctor’s office. The non-profit organization, Judicial Watch, reported that Gardasil generated about 9,000 “adverse events,” including eighteen deaths, in the first two years after its approval. After January 2008, people reported 140 serious events, twenty-seven of which were “life-threatening.” There were and ten spontaneous abortions and six cases of GBS. People reported an additional thirty-two cases of GBS to the FDA since June 2006. GBS, an autoimmune syndrome, often results in paralysis and death. [16] By June 14, 2014, people had reported at least 171 deaths to VAERS following HPV vaccinations (Gardasil or Cervarix). [17]

Merck states that in its documentation that Gardasil does not protect people from some “non-vaccine” HPV types and that the vaccine only lasts for five years and according to the CDC protects against four of about 40 types of HPV. Mothers are taking a big risk in exposing their daughters to the HPV vaccine but most just follow their doctor’s advice without investigating the potential dangers. Even with the vaccine, one can still get HPV. [18]

[1] Louise Kuo Habakus, Mary Holland, Kim Mack Rosenberg (editors), Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, Kindle, 2011, Locations 3746-3759

[2] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 131-132, 67-69

[3] Gardasil: More Adverse Reactions and Scandals, February 4, 2009, http://whale.to/vaccine/gardasil1.html, viewed 9/1/2014

[4] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 129-131

[5] A Judicial Watch Special Report, Examining the FDA’s HPV Vaccine Records, Detailing the Approval Process, Side-Effects, Safety Concerns and Marketing Practices of a Large-Scale Public Health Experiment, June 30, 2008,
http://www.judicialwatch.org/documents/2008/JWReportFDAhpvVaccineRecords.pdf

[6] FDA Approves Gardasil for Prevention of Vulvar and Vaginal Cancer, http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-approves-expanded-uses-gardasil-include-preventing-certain-vulvar-vaginal-cancers-1117.html, viewed 7/21/2014

[7] FDA Approves Gardasil for Use in Boys and Young Men, http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-approves-gardasil-boys-young-men-1691.html, viewed 7/21/2014

[8] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 129-131

[9] FDA Approves Gardasil to Prevent Anal Cancer, http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-gardasil-approved-prevent-anal-cancer-2472.html, viewed 7/21/2014

[10] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 68-69

[11] Gardasil PAC Review Time Frame, and US Dose Distribution: Oct 16, 2009-Dec 22, 2011, http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/PediatricAdvisoryCommittee/UCM302993.pdf, viewed 7/21/2014

[12] Elisabeth Rosenthal, The Evidence Gap, Drug Makers’ Push Leads to Cancer Vaccines’ Rise, The New York Times, August 19, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/health/policy/20vaccine.html, viewed 7/21/2014

[13] Gardasil PAC Review Time Frame, and US Dose Distribution: Oct 16, 2009-Dec 22, 2011, http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/PediatricAdvisoryCommittee/UCM302993.pdf, viewed 7/21/2014

[14] Louise Kuo Habakus, Mary Holland, Kim Mack Rosenberg (editors), Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, Kindle, 2011, Locations 2686-2688

[15] FDA Approves Gardasil to Prevent Anal Cancer, http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-gardasil-approved-prevent-anal-cancer-2472.html, viewed 7/21/2014

[16] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 129-133

[17] Back-to-School Vaccines: Know the Risks and Failures, August 26, 2014, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/08/26/back-to-school-vaccines.aspx, viewed 8/29/2014

[18] Andreas Moritz, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time, Ener-Chi Wellness Press, Ener-chi.com, Kindle, 2011, pp. 131-132, 67-69