BlogHer - vaccines - Comments

Getting the vaccine, getting

Melissa Ford — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:31:41 -0600

Getting the vaccine, getting the vaccine! You certainly don't want to get them H1N1 :-)

It's really a hard call if you can get your hands on the vaccine.

Venting about infertility since 2006 www.stirrup-queens.com and we're not talkin' cowgirls...

Very interesting post. Im

RockerByeBaby — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:29:58 -0600

Very interesting post. Im debating back and forth about getting H1N1 for my boys... still with no final decision :( I love reading others perspectives.

Love, Amber Zrust RockerByeBaby www.RockerByeBaby.com

Hepatitis B vs Gardasil

spdy69 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:10:26 -0500

First of all, I applaud you for looking up facts on Wikipedia about Hepatitis B. I think if anyone on this post wants to be really educated, they will properly research the topic using peer reviewed journals. First of all, HPV has no cure - and yes, many times it does clear spontaneously, but many times the virus remains latent for years before it is "reactivated" later on in life. Pap smears can only tell if you have cervical dysplasia and cervical dysplasia only occurs when the HPV has been "activated." Most women carry the inactivated form of HPV and after 30 years of age, the risk of it "activating" increases exponentially. This is why the majority of cervical cancer cases occur in older women (because HPV is more likely to activate at this time). Secondly, you say that the incidence of cervical cancer is just "a blip" compared to the 20 million Americans that carry the HPV virus. Well did you know that cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths WORLDWIDE? In 2008, a study by Watson et al assessed the burden of HPV-associated cancers in the U.S. during 1998 through 2003 using cancer registry data. The study estimated that an average of 10,800 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S. along with 2300 cases of vulvar cancers, 800 cases of penile cancers, 600 cases of vaginal cancers, 3000 cases of anal cancers, and 7400 cases of head and neck cancers, all of which were associated with HPV. Actual morbidity and mortality for cervical cancer alone in 2005 revealed 11,999 diagnoses of cervical cancer and 3,925 deaths as a result of the disease.

Also, in 2007, the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey concluded that women between the ages of 20 and 24 (44.8%) had the highest prevalence of HPV infection. During that same year, the CDC reported that of those infected with HPV approximately 23% of cases were caused by high risk (HR) types. Furthermore, HR types were found to be strongly associated with younger populations, accounting for 64% of women between the ages of 14 and 29.Individuals that contract HR types were also more likely to be infected specifically with types 16 and 18 (the two types that cause more than 90% of cervical cancer cases), affecting 26% of women between the ages of 14 and 29.

Also, transmission is not solely due to sexual intercourse. This is the most common however many many studies have shown reservoirs for the virus on the penis shaft, scrotum, anus, cervix, vagina, vulva, urine, and hands...This means that non-penetration sexual activity including "casual contact" - or oral-genital or hand-genital contact can transmit the virus....So yes folks, your 11 and 12 year olds who are touching other kids (and not having sex) CAN get the virus!!! And guess what??? There have been tons of studies looking at the percentage of CHILDREN who have HPV - and not just HPV, but the high risk types that can lead to a number of different cancers (not just cervical).

I personally think it's a no-brainer that children should get the HPV vaccine. I'm not necessarily a proponent for the vaccine being REQUIRED, as I think everyone should have the choice as to whether or not they want their child to be vaccinated ...but I I think it's crazy that anyone would say no to an anti-cancer vaccine.

And yes, we don't know long term effects of the vaccine --- but as of now it has shown 100% efficacy in preventing cervical cancer from the two most common types of HPV --- and no serious adverse effects have been directly linked to the HPV vaccine.

If I had a daughter, she would be getting this vaccine, no doubt.

Not me...

BrownImani — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:56:35 -0500

I got a flu vaccine once about 10 years ago to protect my preemie from any nasty flu I might bring home to her. I came down with the flu in less than 2 days and took 10 days to recover. Then I came down with the Flu" again about 3 weeks later !! No thank you. Since then I do what I always do during cold and flu season and we make out okay.

Bewar of new vaccines. Many times the flu vaccines are based on the "old" flu and useless against the new strain. The new vaccine Gardisil is having horrendous complications in the young girls and women taking it. Just research everything really good before rolling up your sleeve.

absolutely embracing H1N1 vaccine

mayinski — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:00:07 -0500

we're waiting for the vaccines to arrive in Dubai, where we live. My LO is 23m and I'm 23w pregnant, so we're both high risk for contracting the disease and also prime candidates for the vaccines. I've never had a regular flu shot but this type of virus (H1N1) really started to scare me a few weeks ago. I guess over here, we have little facts in the media and lots of rumors going around, so every mommy I know and pregnant friends as well are going to get the shots as soon as they land in the UAE. Now about that timeframe...it was supposed to be Oct, now it's looking like Jan 09. Until then lots of anti-bacterial lotion!

Still on the fence about the H1N1 shot...

Leighbra — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:45:32 -0500

Leaning more towards the "no" side of the fence though. We don't get flu shots, either. No big political reason though really.

Take your annual salary- say it’s $75,000. Subtract the last 3 zeros;
you are left with 75. Divide that by 2= $37.50. This is your magic
figure for determining whether outsourcing something is worth it. If
the service costs less than this amount per hour, you should do it, and
it is to your economic advantage to do so.

Well, that formula is basically just a way to figure out what YOU make an hour, BEFORE taxes.

If you make $75,000 a year, you make roughly 36.05 a hour.

75,000/52 weeks in a year=~1442.30 a week
1442.30/40 hours per week= ~36.05 an hour, before taxes, insurance and blah blah blah.

Then you have to decide if the labor is something skilled enough that it's worth trading YOUR time straight for their time, and if you're getting a full hour's worth of YOUR time for the service.

For housekeeping, changing my oil, even working on my VW, or watching the kids, I want to pay considerably less than what I make an hour. Unless it's something you REALLY hate to do. I know several women who pay someone to come in and clean the toilets, wash windows and ceilings for just a couple hours a week, because the stress it saves them is valuable.

Another question is: does the service require expensive tools or materials? If you need your lawn mowed (mown? whatever), figuring in the cost of a lawn mower makes it more economically sound to pay more per hour. If you can get the lawn done in 20 minutes, and you're paying them what you make in an hour? Not sound.

Sorry to latch on to the smallest portion of your post! Had to sort out that formula for myself, that's what money math does to me!

In between...

sebeaver — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:41:15 -0500

I find myself also struggling to make a real decision on whether the risks out weight the benefits of Gardasil. My initial thoughts were pro this vaccine because anything that prevents cancer should be a good thing, right? Well looking at the statistics of the drug, it seems like the adverse risks of this drug are pretty low, however, may seem higher than the risk of cervical cancer itself? That kind of turned me away and made me think that it might actually be in girls best interest not to get the vaccine. However, with any type of medicine, there always are health risks, and HVP doesn't always lead to cervical cancer if regularly screened. So for me, it comes down to the decision of the parent or the girl. If they feel by getting this vaccine is right for them then I say do it. I think be informed about the vaccine and knowing the risks will help some one determine if that is a risk they want to take. I think making this vaccine mandatory is a little ridiculous because I honestly didn't think cervical cancer was that big or a concern compared to something like breast cancer.

I did hear something interesting on this topic today, Gardasil (or a vaccine like it) in a few years will be available for young men between the ages 9-26. It is my understanding that men are the carriers for HVP, so by making this vaccine available to men, would it be more effective at eliminating cervical cancer for women?

-Shannon Beaver

Thanks for sharing your story...

Catherine Morgan — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:17:19 -0500

Thanks for sharing your story, I am very sorry to hear about your daughter. I've always wondered how many adverse reactions were actually reported to VAERS, considering so many people have never even heard of it.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan

at Catherine-Morgan.com and Women4Hope

Gardasil Victim

rdmathis2 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:36:55 -0500

My 13 year old daughter was injured by Gardasil and completely disabled for the past year. Merck got it right when they used the slogan "One Less" for Gardasil. Because of Gardasil, my daughter was "One Less". She was "One Less Student", "One Less Active Child", "One Less in every aspect of her life". Take it from a mother who has spent the past year sitting by my child's beside wondering if she would die in her sleep. INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU VACCINATE. DO NOT trust your doctor to make this decision. If you want to understand Merck's role in the medical community, investigate some of their former wonderdrugs such as VIOXX and then marvel at how many people died from it before it was pulled off the market. The CDC AND FDA need to do their job and get this off the market before more children are harmed. The public is not aware of VAERS and the #'s are grossly understated. I have had to tell my child's doctors about VAERS and make them file reports or she would not be one of the current statistics in VAERS. Even then, her information has not been entered correctly so I know that VAERS is not what it should be. Please do not let this happen to your child.

You guys are always so timely lol

Leighbra — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:51:47 -0500

I've actually been losing sleep over this issue recently, because my daughter is 11, and due for a doctor's appt for a booster to her DTaP series, and I know that this will be brought up.

The thing that most gives me pause is that we don't have any real indicator about this vaccine needing boosters or not. If the vaccine lasts 6-7 years, and these girls are getting it at 11, they may be unprotected (but still think they're covered) as they head off to college.

I'm a big supporter of immunizations, and don't think that this vaccine will magically turn my 11 year old into a promiscuous wanton tween, but I'm not fond of experimenting on my kids. I figure if she does need the shot later on, when we're talking about birth control will be a more appropriate time for her to get it.

I spent a considerable amount of time talking to the rep at the Pearl of Wisdom booth at BlogHer 09, it would be interesting for one of them to reply to this post.

On the Fence

dufmanno — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:19:41 -0500

I'm struggling with this decision as I sit here with the kids medical forms. The school sent information letting us know we can opt out of this vaccination with no consequences so I think that's the route I'm going to take. Frightening the number of required shots you need these days to even send them into a classroom.

Yes

TW — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:05:37 -0500

Because they do it at the hospital before they leave or did at that time. He was my first child and I was exceptionally well read and obsessively read all the hospital maternity info and they never mentioned it. Silver nitrate, I was ready for. Hep B no.

~TW

Retro-Food

Hepatitis Vaccine vs. Gardasil

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:42:43 -0500

Hi TW. The Hepatitis B Vaccine is much more important than Gardasil. Here are some facts about Hepatitis B...

Hepatitis B can be fatal.
Hepatitis B, once caught, has no cure. There is, however, safe and proven prevention in the form of the hepatitis B vaccine.
Hepatitis
B virus infects over 200,000 people in the US every year, and there are
currently 1.5 million chronic carriers in America alone.
Hepatitis
B kills over 5,000 Americans each year. It is a leading cause of
chronic cirrhosis and a known cause of hepatocellular carcinoma. Death
is usually delayed 10 to 20 years from the time of original infection.
The
hepatitis B virus is found in blood and body fluids such as semen,
vaginal secretions and breast milk. It can be spread through sexual
contact; by sharing needles or razors; and by tattooing or body
piercing with unsterile equipment. However, 40% of those infected do
not know how they contracted the disease and acknowledge no risk
factors when asked.
Pregnant women with hepatitis B
will infect more than 50% of their infants. 90% of the 6,000 infants
infected perinatally in the US each year will become chronic hepatitis
B carriers, and 25% will eventually die of cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Up
to 30% of all pediatric infections occur through contact with adult
chronic carriers of hepatitis B living in the same household.

Once you have Hepatitis B, you have it. It will not go away on it's own and it can not be cured with any medication. On the other hand, the majority of HPV infections will clear up on their own without treatment, and when needed there are effective treatments. It is very, very rare for HPV to cause cervical cancer. Think about it this way - About 50% of all men and women will have an HPV virus at some point in their lives (that's huge numbers 20-30 million just in the US). But the incidence of cervical cancer in comparison to those numbers is barely a blip. There is just no comparison of the importance of the Hep B vaccine and the HPV vaccine, it's comparing apples to oranges.

Thanks for your comment TW.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
at Catherine-Morgan.com and Women4Hope

The only difference

Suzanne Reisman — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:03:48 -0500

Wow, that's intense. I guess I'd say the only difference between the two is that you can get Hep B from a blood transfusion, and I don't think you can get HPV that way. Still, only an hour old? Just wow.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants

Religious were red herring.

confusedhomemaker — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:44:56 -0500

The press jumped on the idea fed to them via companies who seemed to implying that objecting or having concerns about this drug was simply a stance a only an extreme religious loon who was obsessed with sex would take. And people jumped at the bait, making it about an ancillary issue versus the real health effects of this vaccine on women's health (including the health of minor females).

When the concerns about possible sexual behavior weren't the reason most people I know or read writing concerns about this vaccine, instead it was the overall efficacy and long term benefits to administering this drug to females of all ages. I'm apt to argue that it was a red herring all along to push the real objections based on science off to the side while focusing on a supposed belief that having this vaccine would increase sexual behavior by religious persons. Talking about that issue distracted people from the real issue which related to the actual need & effect of this vaccine on female health.

beth aka confusedhomemaker

http://theconfusedhomemaker.com/