Here’s how a drug company might provide a script for doctors to sell a potentially dangerous vaccine

Warning upon warning

For years now, I’ve been warning parents… They’re coming for your young daughters and sons.

“They” are Merck executives. With the CDC’s blessing, they intend to give every child the Gardasil HPV vaccine, starting at age 12.

The warning still holds true, of course. But now there’s a new warning, parents. They’re coming for your kids, and they are sick of you standing in the way.

Sticking to the script

A three-year survey in the journal Pediatrics shows that parents are catching on to Gardasil. A rising percentage say they would not let their teen girls get the vaccine.

Parents passed on the shot for three reasons… 1) Not necessary. 2) Not recommended. 3) Safety concerns.

This is encouraging. But you can imagine the reaction. For the medical mainstream, the trend is all wrong. And the solution is obvious. Yes…as one doctor puts it… “Pediatricians really do need to continue to be vaccine advocates.”

That’s right. Not YOUR advocate. Not a patient advocate. Not a health advocate. But a pharmaceutical advocate? No way. We already have MORE than enough of those. They’re called drug companies.

But this idea of doctors advocating for the vaccine was common throughout several articles about this survey. They see the Gardasil slump as two problems… 1) Reluctant parents. 2) Reluctant pediatricians.

I guess they realized their bombardment of commercials directed to parents didn’t work. So now it’s time for Plan B: Prod pediatricians to be aggressive.

And I think right there is the unofficial purpose of this survey. I believe it was set up to deliver a scripted sales pitch for pediatricians.

Merck funded the survey. And the senior researcher, Robert Jacobson, has financial ties to Merck. But he’s also a pediatrician with the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. So there’s built in “Mayo Clinic” prestige.

In a Mayo press release, Jacobson says, “The facts show the vaccine is necessary.” He adds, “More and more studies showed how safe and effective the HPV vaccine is.”

See how it works? A Merck sales rep can give that press release to a pediatrician. Now the doctor has a little script he can use to convince parents who are wary of the vaccine. And he can lay it on thick. “Well according to the Mayo Clinic…”

But here’s the reality behind Jacobson’s nonsense…

Last year, I pointed out the flaws in one of those studies he mentioned. Three out of four girls in the study didn’t get all three rounds of the shot. And the study reported only TWO safety concerns… 1) Fainting when the shot is given. 2) Skin infections. And that’s it. No mention of potential seizures, fatigue, autoimmune disorders, neurologic disorders, or deaths. The study was Merck funded, of course.

Now back to the script…

Jacobson: “HPV causes essentially 100% of cervical cancer and 50% of all Americans get infected at least once with HPV. It’s a silent infection. You cannot tell when you’ve been exposed or when you have it. While most HPV infections clear, a percentage linger and start the process of cancerous changes.”

I don’t think that’s a casual quote. I think it’s carefully written to make HPV sound terrifying.

Here’s the same information, without the fear pumped up…

Less than two percent of all women develop the types of HPV responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. And 90% of adolescent HPV infections are resolved without treatment.

Those that don’t resolve themselves are easily caught by using harmless pap smears, with a very high cure rate.

But many parents will never hear such a rational description of HPV. So they’re set up for Jacobson’s big finish… “The HPV vaccine is an anti-cancer vaccine.”

Merck can’t call Gardasil an anti-cancer vaccine in advertising or on their website. That’s because it’s not true. BUT… Their lead researcher can say it in a Mayo Clinic press release. And pediatricians can memorize the script.

It’s wildly misleading. But it makes a great sales pitch.

Sources:
“Reasons for Not Vaccinating Adolescents: National Immunization Survey of Teens, 2008–2010” Pediatrics, Published online ahead of print 3/18/13, pediatrics.aappublications.org

“More Parents Say They Won’t Vaccinate Daughters Against HPV” Mayo Clinic press release, 3/15/13, newswise.com