Transcript Gardasil

The Facts About Gardasil
By Andrew Coldrick
The advert
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyhLg
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What is Gardasil?
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Gardasil is a vaccine that was officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration on June
8th, 2006. It is administered through injection and distributed by the Merck pharmaceutical
corporation. The cost for one dose is around $120 and the cost for all 3 is around $360
The Gardasil virus is designed for the use in preventing certain types of the human papillomavirus
The types of cervical cancer that Gardasil is designed to protect against causes approximately
70% of types of cervical cancer and 90% of genital warts.
However, it does not deal with all forms of cervical cancer, and this is one of the reasons why the
vaccine is so controversial
How Gardasil Works
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Gardasil, like all vaccines, is essentially a weakened version of the virus
injected into the body in order to build up immunity to it
The vaccine builds up proteins similar to the ones created by the virus, but
instead of harming the body, they work as antibodies that go into action if
the HPV virus is found to be present in the body
The vaccine works due to the fact that it contains the viral proteins from
HPV types 16, 18, 6, 11. This is designed to protect against infection from
these types of the HPV virus, which make up the majority of HPV viruses
that come about through sexual contact
In order for it to be truly effective, it has to be administered in three different
doses over the course of six months
What is HPV?
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HPV, or genital human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually
transmitted virus in the United States, with more than half of sexually active
men and women getting infected with the virus at some point in their lives
About 20 million Americans are current infected, and about 6 million get
infected each year
The condition is usually spread via sexual contact
Most of the time, HPV doesn’t cause any noticable symptoms, but it can
lead to cervical cancer in some women, which is the 2nd leading form of
cancer amongst women in the world
Vaginal and vulvar cancers are also thought to be caused by the HPV virus
There is no cure for HPV infection, but some of the problems that it causes
can be treated
Benefits of Gardasil
• The Gardasil virus can prevent
most forms of cervical cancer
in females
• Protection from HPV after
receiving the virus is
considered to be long-lasting
• As well as protecting from
cervical cancer, it can also
prevent vaginal and vulvar
cancer in females, and genital
warts in both males and
females
Side Effects
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The Gardasil virus is noted for its
side effects, some more serious
than others, and these are a major
point of contention that people
have with the vaccine
Most of these side effects occur
soon after injection, and are
usually mild, such as headaches,
dizziness, and nausea
There are however, more serious
side effects, such as fainting,
bruising, and severe allergic
reaction, effects which have been
publicized by opponents of the
vaccine
Controversy
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The Gardasil vaccine is controversial for a number of reasons. These
reasons include health concerns, moral concerns, and concerns regarding
potential forced vaccinations
Gardasil does have numerous side effects. Some of the less harmful side
effects include pain, headaches, fever, nausea, and dizziness. Some of the
more harmful side effects include fainting, swollen glands, bleeding and
bruising, as well as fainting
Many religious and social conservatives view Gardasil as a vaccine that
could potentially encourage young women to be promiscuous, and thus
consider Gardasil to be immoral
The fact that Merck is lobbying on behalf of forced Gardasil vaccinations for
girls is also a major point of contention. In 2007, Texas Governor Rick Perry
passed an executive order mandating all teenage girls in his state get
injected with Gardasil was later rescinded over mass opposition
In Conclusion
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Gardasil is a vaccine that has its share of benefits and drawbacks, the latter,
of course, being the things that are frequently debated and discussed by the
media
The advert, produced and paid for by Merck, is of course going to focus on
the positive aspects of the drug. This particular ad portrays the drug as
something liberating and emancipating for women, with wise mothers and
female mentors bonding with their daughters, and informing the viewer on
their decision to get their daughters and themselves vaccinated
This is advertising catered to a key and a targeted demographic. This is
something that all advertisers do frequently in order to better sell their
product. Prescription drug advertising is controversial, only being legal in
the US and New Zealand, and there are greater restrictions on such
advertising than for other products
In summary, Gardasil has the potential to benefit many people, but
concerns need to be addressed and acted on before use of this vaccine
becomes more wide-spread