Yeah, I get the pap smear thing. The only thing I worry about is that at some point my kids would stop getting regular exams, but I don’t think that’s likely with me nagging away. Gardasil seems more relevant to people that don’t have the luxury of health care, but then, they probably can’t afford the shot either.

I’m not big on financial conspiracies, and I do think that many researchers genuinely want to fix diseases, and God bless them, they do some good work. But let me see, Merck does have stockholders and a massive Vioxx settlement to face–where’s the Money? Vaccinations for everyone, or a genital wart cure for a relative few?

I don’t think there’s much risk of new diseases cropping up because of Gardasil, so the analogy to antibacterial soap may not be very apt. I’m not an immunologist, but I don’t think it’s one that’s easy to evolve around, so to speak.

I’m more worried about a subtler risk from Gardasil: that people will get the vaccine and then stop having Pap smears done because they think they are immune to cervical cancer. They’re not, and that’s not all that Pap smears are good for.

BTW, I suspect a fast and easy cure for genital warts would be a very strong seller. Cures always tend to do better than preventative medicine. So I don’t think it’s a lack of financial incentive that keeps Merck from inventing that. I think it’s because it’s actually not an easy problem to solve.

I’m kind of crabby old-school–I had ALL the childhood diseases, including mumps, measles and rubella; and my mom had TB so I got a good dose of that. So even though intellectually I do know that normal childhood diseases can kill etc., it seems far from the norm to me. I DID see more unpleasant side effects of disease when I lived in Africa, which is why I went along with most of the recommended vaccines.

However, I also do what my parents did to bolster my kids’ immune systems (they did it unintentionally because we didn’t have much money; I make an effort to do it): I feed my kids very little meat, tons of fruits and veggies, and make them go outside a lot. And build exercise into their days.

Although I believe that many medications etc. are a wonderful thing, I don’t trust drug manufacturers to tell me, or my doctor, the whole truth. We already know that they bury studies that don’t put theirdrugs in a favorable light, quietly sponsor trial write-ups in medical journals, and sometimes blatantly alter information. So I am forced to think about these things myself.

In the case of Gardasil, I have faced enormous pressure from the school, the pediatrician (we’ve moved, and I sure miss my chicken pox hero); even the flipping soccer coach. I’ve wavered about it endlessly. But at this point, I’ve decided it’s just not on. I’m pretty sure I’m not risking my two daughters getting cervical cancer- I’m a strong believer in check-ups- and I think Merck would better serve us by working on a fast and easy cure for genital warts – of course, that wouldn’t serve the stockholders so well as 3 shots plus, more than likely, booster shots, for every boy and girl in the world.

I see Gardasil as being like anti-bacterial soap–for the general population, an unecessary idea that has the potential to cause problems. I’m just going to keep working on healthy immune systems.

Your objections to Varicella and Gardasil are not totally off-base. There is a lot we still don’t know. The only way to know what will really happen with a vaccine is to study it for the full lifetime of a person. Personally, I don’t think it is wise to wait for 80 years to see what the need for boosters is. With varivax it became clear that there was a need for it. Now we do two vaccines. The same happened with many of the other shots we give. Presently, the pertussis vaccine is being recommended in adults who are around children, and I have a feeling it will be required for all. Pertussis is more common in adults than we realized.

Does that mean the immunizations are bad? No. It is just the normal process with vaccines. There is no way to answer all of the questions.

My girls are getting Gardasil, but more data wouldn’t be bad. The way it was pushed by Merck made me a little nervous.

I’m not neurotic about vaccines. My kids had most of the recommended vaccines, although I drew the line at the chicken pox vaccine (their pediatrician shrugged and said, frankly, I wouldn’t get it for my kids either–which is why I trusted him whenever he recommended something). They had the pox, and guess what, so did most of their schoolmates who’d had the vaccinations, albeit with milder cases. And yes, those of us whose kids hadn’t had the vaccine did have chicken pox parties.

And forget Gardasil. I don’t think the benefits outweigh the risks. I don’t think there’s been sufficient follow-up. And I think Merck has a massive financial/shareholder motive, exacerbated by the Vioxx debacle, that perhaps wasn’t as big of a pressure when older childhood vaccines were developed.

I’m concerned about replacement diseases and I’m concerned about the complete unknown of necessary booster shots. How long will Gardasil be effective? Merck doesn’t know, even though our kids will likely be exposed to HPV throughout their lives. We’ll make do with regular Pap smears, thank you very much.

I was one of the first on board to get the new vaccine for young women, even though I am in a healthy marriage. I was also one of the first in my college to get the meningitis vaccine which was offered there. That is a scary, scary disease. By the time someone realizes you have it, you’re already racing the clock to survive-or already dead.

I understand fears of the unknown. But, for one thing, autism is not a death sentence. Of course you do not want your child to struggle, but many children with autism are brilliant, loving people. And no one can prove it is caused by vaccines!!!

Children AND adults should keep up to date with vaccines. When was the last time YOU had a tetanus shot, for example? Or meningitis shot? Check your own records as well as your children’s! You might be missing something.