How many boys will die? That’s the elephant in the FDA’s living room.

American parents…brace yourselves...

FDA officials followed the recent recommendation of their Gardasil panel and approved the vaccine for all young men, ages 9 to 26, to prevent genital warts.

Thousands of pediatricians will immediately begin recommending the shot for boys. “Not to worry!” they’ll tell you. The FDA says everything is okay.

Never mind that genital warts can be avoided by practicing safe sex. (Of course, you can’t assume your 9-year-old will remember to use a condom.)

Never mind that the long term efficacy and safety of the vaccine is unknown.

Never mind that the FDA has received more than 15,000 adverse event reports for Gardasil use among girls. Those reports include more than 1,000 severe reactions and 27 confirmed deaths.

Never mind that some of the boys who received Gardasil in trials still developed genital warts.

Never mind that the round of three shots required for “protection” will cost around $500.

Never mind all that.

Just line your boys up, America, and allow Merck executives to collect millions of your dollars.

And remember: If your boy has a seizure and dies after receiving a Gardasil shot, that’s just a coincidence.

Bad need

Merck very much needed this FDA approval to promote Gardasil for boys.

Two reasons.

1) Last year, Gardasil revenues were down (likely due to the vaccine’s growing reputation as unnecessary and potentially dangerous).

2) Competition. The FDA is considering approval of Cervarix, another HPV vaccine that’s already in use in many countries.

Unlike Gardasil, Cervarix does not block HPV strains that cause genital warts. So the FDA approval for Gardasil use in boys is a significant boost.

But not so fast…

Jane Kim, Ph.D., of Harvard recently conducted a study that weighed the Gardasil benefits for boys against cost data and population studies. Result: The vaccine is not cost-effective for use in boys.

Obviously, there are much better ways to spend our health care dollars.

Dr. Kim was quick to point out to Reuters Health that her results don’t suggest that the FDA should withhold approval. Heavens no! We wouldn’t want to offend Merck or the FDA. She adds that the vaccine is new, so all the health benefits may not yet be known.

Hilarious! As the adverse event reports continue to mount, we’ll be sure to keep a sharp lookout for all the additional health benefits from this no-win drug.

For more information about Gardasil dangers, I hope you’ll take a moment to view a video I recently made. And please feel free to forward this e-mail along to any parents you know who might be considering this vaccine for their daughters or sons.

Sources:

“FDA Panel OKs HPV Vaccine Gardasil for Boys” Miranda Hitti, WebMD Health News, 9/9/09, webmd.com

“Giving Gardasil to Boys Not Cost Effective: Study” Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters Health, 10/9/09, reutershealth.com

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