Dr. Harper began her remarks by explaining that 70 percent of all HPV infections resolve themselves without treatment within a year. Within two years, the number climbs to 90 percent. Of the remaining 10 percent of HPV infections, only half will develop into cervical cancer, which leaves little need for the vaccine.

She went on to surprise the audience by stating that the incidence of cervical cancer in the U.S. is already so low that “even if we get the vaccine and continue PAP screening, we will not lower the rate of cervical cancer in the US.”

The heroic Dr. Harper then told the audience, “there have been no efficacy trials in girls under 15 years.”

Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil, studied only a small group of girls under 16 who had been vaccinated, but did not follow them long enough to conclude sufficient presence of effective HPV antibodies.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper revealed the fact that Merck never tested Gardasil for safety in young girls. During a 2007 interview with KPC News.com, she said giving the vaccine to girls as young as 11 years-old “is a great big public health experiment.”

Read the whole story. Thanks to Mark Fee for the link.

When Merck could smell its competition coming up behind ‘em as Cervarix was destined for approval in the U.S., it began to promote Gardasil as an effective tool in the prevention of genital warts in boys and men (ages 9-26). Glaxo also claimed protection against an additional strain (strain 31) of the HPV virus, so it could differentiate its product, too. Meanwhile, the deaths of Natalie Morton and Stacy Jones (in the UK), both occurring after Cervarix shots, were quietly brushed aside and/or covered up. This week the FDA approved the use of Gardasil for males for prevention of genital warts and it approved Cervarix for use in the U.S. This is from the Bloomberg story on Gardasil’s new approval:

Expanding the shot’s use could revive sales, which declined 5 percent last year, analysts have said.

“This is an important milestone, because the use of Gardasil can now help protect boys and girls and young men and women from certain diseases caused by this common virus,” said Richard Haupt, executive director of Merck Research Laboratories, in the company’s statement.

However, when researchers use their QALY formula (quality adjusted life years), analysts say that the “public-health benefit may not outweigh the expense.” Of course, the story later reports what we all know from educating ourselves about this dilemma: “While 20 million Americans are infected with HPV, most will be able to fight off the infection naturally.” Thus, there is no need for a vaccine other than making big bucks for Big Pharma by scaremongering people into believing they must have protection for every disease, every wart, every headache, every pimple, every fall, every sneeze, and every imagined disorder. Thanks to all the readers (there were many) so sent links to me related to the FDA’s approval.