Female Immigrants Required to get HPV Cancer Vaccine in US

by Terri Potratz | October 23, 2008 at 01:54 pm

561 views | 10 Recommendations | 5 comments

Photos

and he said :"take this pill"..and she did...

see larger image

uploaded by AlexPharma

The cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, which blocks strains of the human papillomavirus (or HPV), is now required for all new female immigrants between the ages of 11 and 26. The vaccine has been recommended for American females between ages 9 to 26 as a means to prevent cervical cancer, which can be caused by HPV, and is most effective if administered at a young age before a girl becomes sexually active.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2006 approved the vaccine Gardasil for females ages 9 to 26 to block strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. About 4,000 women in the U.S. die of the disease each year.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-old girls, with catch-up shots up to age 26. The vaccine works best if given early, before a young woman is sexually active and might have contracted the virus.

Most people have not heard of the immigration law being called into effect here, which was implemented in 1996 and requires that all immigrants abide by US vaccine recommendations.

Unknown to many immigrant and health advocates, a 1996 immigration law directs the Citizenship and Immigration Services to require that new immigrants receive any inoculation recommended for U.S. residents by the CDC's immunization committee.

The new law, in effect as of August 1, 2008, will see over 130,000 female immigrants receive the vaccine each year. There has been some public outcry over the use of Gardasil, and even more now that its use has been mandated. After only 2 years of testing, there are still some side effects and possible long-term ramifications have not yet been clearly identified.

As of June 30, the FDA had received 9,749 "adverse events" reports from physicians and patients following Gardasil injections. Most involved pain at the injection site, headaches, nausea, fainting or fever.

The 6 percent that were deemed serious included 20 deaths as well blood clots and several cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can lead to paralysis. There is no evidence that Gardasil caused the deaths or led to Guillain-Barre, the FDA says.

Still, some physicians believe that the vaccine's safety has not been proved. Dr. George Sawaya, a University of California, San Francisco obstetrician gynecologist, called the CDC recommendation "premature" because the vaccine is so new.

UPDATE - The following are all of the recommended vaccinations and immunizations recommended by the CDC:

1. Hepatitis B vaccine (HepB).
• Administer the 3-dose series to those who were not previously vaccinated.
• A 2-dose series of Recombivax HB® is licensed for children aged 11–15 years.
2. Rotavirus vaccine (Rota).
• Do not start the series later than age 12 weeks.
• Administer the final dose in the series by age 32 weeks.
• Do not administer a dose later than age 32 weeks.
• Data on safety and efficacy outside of these age ranges are insufficient.
3. Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP).
• The fifth dose is not necessary if the fourth dose was administered at age 4 years or older.
• DTaP is not indicated for persons aged 7 years or older.
4. Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (Hib).
• Vaccine is not generally recommended for children aged 5 years or older.
• If current age is younger than 12 months and the first 2 doses were PRP-OMP (PedvaxHIB® or ComVax® [Merck]), the third (and final) dose should be administered at age 12–15 months and at least 8 weeks after the second dose.
• If first dose was administered at age 7–11 months, administer 2 doses separated by 4 weeks plus a booster at age 12–15 months.
5. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).
• Administer one dose of PCV to all healthy children aged 24–59 months having any incomplete schedule.
• For children with underlying medical conditions, administer 2 doses of PCV at least 8 weeks apart if previously received less than 3 doses, or 1 dose of PCV if previously received 3 doses.
6. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV).
• For children who received an all-IPV or all-oral poliovirus (OPV) series, a fourth dose is not necessary if third dose was administered at age 4 years or older.
• If both OPV and IPV were administered as part of a series, a total of 4 doses should be administered, regardless of the child’s current age.
• IPV is not routinely recommended for persons aged 18 years and older.
7. Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR).
• The second dose of MMR is recommended routinely at age 4–6 years but may be administered earlier if desired.
• If not previously vaccinated, administer 2 doses of MMR during any visit with 4 or more weeks between the doses.
8. Varicella vaccine.
• The second dose of varicella vaccine is recommended routinely at age 4–6 years but may be administered earlier if desired.
• Do not repeat the second dose in persons younger than 13 years of age if administered 28 or more days after the first dose.
9. Hepatitis A vaccine (HepA).
• HepA is recommended for certain groups of children, including in areas where vaccination programs target older children.
10. Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids vaccine (Td) and tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap).
• Tdap should be substituted for a single dose of Td in the primary catch-up series or as a booster if age appropriate; use Td for other doses.
• A 5-year interval from the last Td dose is encouraged when Tdap is used as a booster dose. A booster (fourth) dose is needed if any of the previous doses were administered at younger than 12 months of age. Refer to ACIP recommendations for further information.
11. Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV).
• Administer the HPV vaccine series to females at age 13–18 years if not previously vaccinated.

Related NowPublic.com Stories:

The New England Journal of Medicine Questions Distributing HPV Vaccines

Manchester Catholic School Bans Cancer Vaccination

UPDATE: What's The Latest News on GARDASIL?

More Health Stories on NowPublic.com

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Teej (not verified)

at 14:39 on October 23rd, 2008

So, let me get this straight....4,000 deaths from cervical cancer each year.... To date, the FDA has 9,749 (over twice as many) cases recorded of 'adverse events' from this drug. Now the CDC is pushing this 'vaccine' on young immigrant women. This, after most all states shot down attempts made by lobbyists to enforce this drug on US teenage girls. This seems a lot like "Big Pharm" rallying ways to push their evil drugs on whichever young women they can. Who is sleeping with whom here?

Hazel

at 14:57 on October 23rd, 2008

Sounds to me like somebody called in a few favours in Washington and got the FDA to use immigrants to test the vaccine; like a clinical trial without informed consent that makes Merck a health profit in the meantime by forcing the immigrants to dole out the $400 to get the shots???

What will be the feds liability if this forced vaccination program has serious side effects later in life, like fertility issues when the younger of this test group reaches childbearing age?

Isn't this a fairly new drug?

Terri Potratz

at 15:13 on October 23rd, 2008

Karen Hatter has written extensive coverage of Gardasil and related matters on NowPublic and I urge anyone who is interested to read her thorough posts on the subject:

Ten Facts About HPV and GARDASIL

UPDATE: What's The Latest News on GARDASIL?

Health and Safety Versus Profit

Karen Hatter

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:48 on October 23rd, 2008

Thank you, Terri, for including some of my articles on HPV.

In my piece, UPDATE: What's The Latest News on GARDASIL?, I actually linked the announcement to this new immigration requirement, disconcerting when it is considered the number of adverse reactions and deaths have been slowly rising in the U.S. Many believe the government tracking system in place may not be capturing all the data related to the issues with this drug.

What is most troubling is the reality that the claims that HPV vaccines prevent cancer are unproven.

From the above sited article:

Makers of the drug and its proponents have been claiming GARDASIL prevents cervical cancer, an unsubstantiated claim as girls and women involved in initial drug trials, who numbered less than 30,000, were not tracked until the usual age of the onset of cervical cancer, which occurs between the ages of 35 to 45. The average length of follow up study was less than five years.

According to an article available at Medicalaccountability.com, cervical cancer among the age groups of girls and women in the United States being vaccinated with GARDASIL, girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26, is rare, with approximately 3 to 4 cases per 100,000 or 30 to 40 cases of cervical cancer per 1 million girls and women or .00003% to .00004% ( 3 to 4 hundred thousandths of one percent) reported in that age category.

The statistics for the study group are the only data that reflect girls and women other than those in the United States. All other data, as stated, pertains solely to girls and women in the Unites States. I have long believed profit to be the major reason for the attempts to 'fast track' this drug onto the market, with lobbyists lined up in the Congress to promote its use, often without revealing their particular incentive for their support of this product.

Thanks for this post, Terri.

Teej (not verified)

at 11:56 on October 24th, 2008

.....I have long believed profit to be the major reason for the attempts to 'fast track' this drug onto the market, with lobbyists lined up in the Congress to promote its use, often without revealing their particular incentive for their support of this product.......

______ BINGO! ....Profit is the incentive here. It sure isn't the care & concern for healthy cervixes, which numbers prove are quite healthy already. Scary.