More on the HPV Vaccine: Gardasil

By Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) examined reporting of “adverse events” associated with Gardasil, the virus that protects against four types of HPV that cause the majority of cervical cancer.

Gardasil is approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC for young women ages 11-26. But it has faced opposition from the far right, first as a shot that would contribute to “immoral behavior” by lessening the risk of unprotected sex. Now that the vaccine has been approved, its opponents have turned to scare tactics, including circulating the unproven and false claim that Gardasil comes with the risk of serious illness and death.

JAMA’s study found that while adverse events had been reported by patients who received Gardasil, they were consistent with reports for other vaccines; that is, Gardasil was not more or less likely to cause illness than other vaccines. The study did find that Gardasil was more likely to cause dizziness shortly after it is administered to the patient than some vaccines, and recommended that doctors monitor the patient for 15 minutes after they get the vaccine.

In the same issue, JAMA published an editorial that raised some questions about the marketing of Gardasil. The author felt that Merck, Gardasil’s manufacturer, together with the medical community, had not made an effort to disclose that Merck funded many of the educational materials about Gardasil handed out by professional medical associations; and that in some cases these materials didn’t fully explore the risks of Gardasil or emphasize that routine cervical cancer screening is still needed.

The author also takes issue with Merck’s “One Less” Gardasil campaign and its emphasis on protecting girls and young women from cancer:

“Marketing this HPV vaccine as an anticancer vaccine appears to have enabled its manufacturer to circumvent possible parental and public unease with an antidote to sexually transmitted diseases. But in doing so, the company bypassed public health officials who would have spearheaded a risk-sensitive vaccination campaign. ….. Rather than concentrating on populations in geographic areas with excess cervical cancer mortality, including African Americans in the South, Latinos along the Texas-Mexico border, and whites in Appalachia, the marketing campaign posited that every girl was at equal risk: "Your daughter could become 1 less life affected by cervical cancer.”

The populations described as suffering from “excess cancer mortality” are also more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be insured – meaning they are less likely to have access to Gardasil, which costs upwards of $300. While it may be that widespread vaccination will help to lower cervical cancer rates, it is important that all young people have access to the vaccine and be provided an accurate, honest picture of the benefits and risks.