Toronto—In   September one Ontario Catholic school board delayed the introduction of the HPV vaccine in its schools until trustees had a chance to debate the measure and vote on it.

The speedy adoption of Gardasil by Health Canada in Ottawa follows a  massive lobbying campaign by its makers, Merck-Frosst.  It’s efficacy and longterm effects have still been unsufficiently tested and tabulated, particularly when used in combination with other vaccines.

On our own website since August 7, Dr. John B. Shea warned about the dangers of the new human papilloma virus vaccine Gardasil in his article, “HPV vaccination: A threat to families.”  (See C.I., Sept. 2007, p. 39)  Since then, an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has cautioned that it is too early for Canada to immunize all girls and women in this country against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that is believed to cauce most cases of cancer of the vervix.  “We don’t have a crisis or an epidemic,” said the article’s lead author, Abby Lippman.

The article pointed out that clinical trials of the vaccine have involved only a small minority of girls between the ages of 9 and 15, who are the target group for the vaccinations. The vaccine may also create a false sense of security, said Lippman, adding that it will cost an “exorbitant” $400-$600 per patient, or $2 billion to $3 billion in total (Canada.com, August 2, 2007).

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced his government was joining Nova Scotia, Newfoundland-Labrador and P.E.I. in tapping into a $300 million federal program to offer the optional vaccination to 85,000 Grade 8 girls in his province beginning this fall (Globe and Mail, August 2, 2007).

The U.S. Judicial Watch organization says three deaths and a total of 1,637 adverse reactions to Gardasil – including spontaneous abortion, fetal abnormalities, paralysis, Bell’s Palsy, Guillain Barre Syndrome and seizures – were reported to the Food and Drug Administration as of May 2007 (JudicialWatch.org, May 23, 2007; LifeSiteNews.com, August 7, 2007).  More recently seven deaths have been reported.

Christian Heritage Party leader Ron Gray points out the manufacturer of Gardasil, the Merck-Frosst pharmaceutical company, has a track record of trouble, as it suffered $1.2 billion in liability judgements for the inadequately tested analgesic Vioxx. As well, a key lobbyist for the vaccine on behalf of Merck-Frosst is Ken Boessenkool, a former policy advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Press release, August 8, 2007).

A National Post editorial, observed that Gardasil is “being hustled through by governments from experimental status to near-total ubiquity at a rate that may be unprecedented in the annals of modern medicine. Is prudence taking a backseat to politics? … It is rather remarkable that a drug should be adopted for mass administration so quickly without a broader base of evidence” (August 8, 2007).

Globe and Mail public health reporter André Picard said that since the polio epidemic, no vaccine has gone from regulatory approval to mass use in government-funded programs with such dizzying speed as Gardasil. He quoted the co-ordinator of the Women and Health Protection organization, who said governments seem to have succumbed to backroom lobbying from Merck Frosst. “It is staggering how quickly and secretly this has all happened,” she said. Picard also reported that while Gardasil guards against some forms of human papilloma virus, it provides no benefit to women already exposed to the disease (Globe and Mail, August 11 and 15, 2007).

Canada’s leading newsmagazine, Maclean’s, stirred the controversy further when it published a five-page cover story suggesting adoption of the Gardasil vaccine will make “guinea pigs” of Canadian girls. “Misgivings … have been raised by people in peer-reviewed medical journals and by competent medical professionals,” said editor Ken Whyte. “There are obviously serious differences of opinion about the vaccine within the medical community. Many questions remain unanswered” (Brockville Recorder and Times, August 18, 2007).

The medical consequences were one point brought up by the Ontario Bishops’ Conference in a Sept. 10 letter to the Catholic school boards of Ontario.  They recommended that while parents have the final decision, they obtain full information on these before signing consent forms for their daughters’ immunization.  The bishops also emphasized that “outside of marriage, abstinence is…clearly the choice that leads to spiritual and moral well being, but (also) the best protection against risks of disease.

Many Catholic school trustees are concerned, both about possible medical side effects in later years and also that the vaccine gives young girls the wrong message: not only is it “okay” to be sexually active, but now it is also safe!  Several boards therefore, decided to include a copy of the bishops’ letter with information sent home about Gardasil; the ultimate responsibility will be pushed on the parents.