This Just In
HPV Vaccine Side Effects Are a Serious Safety Concern
Well, now I know for sure what my answer will be when my almost 11-year-old daughter's pediatrician asks if we want the HPV vaccine at her next check-up: An emphatic "NO." I was leaning in that direction anyway, for various reasons (more on those in a minute), but the latest news on Gardisil pretty much sealed the deal -- and if you have a tween girl, it might do the same for you.
In a study of 900 girls and young women between the ages of 11 and 26 who received the HPV vaccine, it was the 11- to 12-year-old group who experienced the worst side effects, from pain, dizziness, bruising, and swelling at the injection site to (in rare cases) fainting. These symptoms generally showed up about two weeks after the vaccine was administered.
What bothers me about these findings isn't that any of the side effects are so horrific or life-threatening -- though of course it doesn't help that my daughter happens to be at the riskiest age. What bothers me is that researchers are still in the process of finding out what Gardisil is capable of doing to kids, but the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics are acting like it's perfectly safe.
Maybe it is perfectly safe. Unfortunately, we don't know that yet. Unlike all of the other vaccines my kids have gotten so far, the HPV vaccine is new -- so new that it's impossible to tell at this point what the long-term "side effects" could be. And like I said, maybe there aren't any. But why should I allow my daughter to be a guinea pig?
Are you concerned about Gardisil's potential side effects?
Image via Adrian Clark/Flickr
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the4mutts
MamabearC
Yes,very concerned.Just look at all the drugs that have been FDA approved in the last 5-10 years and then look at how many commercials and articles there are now that show those same drugs being pulled or have law suits against the manufacturers for dangerous and deadly side effects. I won't be getting my daughters vaccinated with this until far more research has been done to prove that there are no long term side effects...
Melissa042807
Gardasil had just come out when I had my first "womanly" appointment. My NP who I went to for those kinds of things at the time said "I won't deny it if a patient wants it, but I feel it hasn't been on the market long enough for us to see potential long-term side effects, so for the time being I'm not pushing it." I really respected her for saying that and it made me think differently about new medications and stuff that come out. How many have been released that have been recalled in 10 or 15 years because they're linked to really serious health problems? Too many. So I'll not put all my trust in a fairly new drug, thankyouverymuch.
Elizabeth
Darlene
femaleMIKE
navywife0204
My DD1 is 10. She had all her vaxes, but I'm not getting her this one.
libby261
No. My daughter did not get this vaccine. It only protects against 3 HPV strains and there is no data as how long the efficacy will last. Most guesstimate 5 years max. So Unless your daughter becomes sexually active at 16, she'll need a booster. Besides, there already is an effective method for early detection of cervical cancer, it is called the PAP TEST and it isn't loaded with a lot of neurotoxic crap.
Bullet_Proof_Me
aux19994
I had this vaccination when i was 16. I'm am fine and never had any side effects, an neither did any body else out of the couple of hundred of girls at my school that got this injection. Sure there there are side affects with every vaccination.Obviously there are side effects(BUT ARN'T THERE WITH EVERY VACCINATION) with 11\12 year olds but why would you get your pre-tween to have a vaccination against cervical cancer when they have barely gone though puberty .As far as i know in New Zealand were i live this vaccination is only offered to 15-18 year olds at high school unless you see your doctor about.