XML Feeds
| « H1N1 Update: Vaccine Safety and Prevention Strategies | Five "Wonder Foods" » |
Latest News on Gardasil Vaccine
After a summer of worries about the safety of the vaccine for cervical cancer, marketed under the trade name Gardasil, a new study was released in the August 19, 2009 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association which demonstrates that the vaccine is safe and effective. Side effects following more than 23 million doses of Gardasil are on par with side effects from other vaccines; however, lightheadedness and fainting (about 8 per 100,000 doses) and blood clots (0.2 per 100,000) were found to happen more often than with other vaccines.
I encourage all young women to discuss the Gardasil vaccine with their physicians to prevent the often serious complications of HPV infection. More than 75% of sexually active young people are infected with HPV by the time they enter college. HPV is responsible for more than 98% of all cases of cervical cancer, and the risk of cancer is greatly reduced by the vaccine.
HPV Facts
- About 11,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in the United States
- Almost 4,000 women die from cervical cancer every year in the United States.
- Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV.
- The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) protects against four types of HPV responsible for up to 70 percent of cervical cancer
I have no financial relationship with the maker of the Gardasil vaccine (Merck) and have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Permalink