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Victoria White

Professor McGriff

ENC 1102

8 August 2018

The Truth Regarding the HPV Vaccine

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were created to prevent cervical, vaginal, penile,

and throat cancer. Scientists and medical doctors thought that administering this vaccine at a

young enough age, before children hit puberty, would prevent them from contracting HPV

strains that could lead to many types of cancer. However, there is a lot of controversy

surrounding HPV vaccines and with good reason. There is not a long-term study about the

potential harmful effects or proof that the HPV vaccine can prevent cervical, vaginal, penile, or

throat cancer permanently. There are even some conspiracy theories explaining that the HPV

vaccine was costly to make and it is not effective long term. Conspiracists believe that is why it

is being marketed so aggressively now, so that those who contributed to the vaccines can make

their money back before people know it is a fluke. There has been a lot of pressure towards

parents to take their young children to receive the HPV vaccine, and yes, vaccines are

instrumental to everyone to keep them alive and healthy, however we cannot ignore the reality

that the HPV vaccine’s longevity is unknown, there are many adverse side effects, and there is

great potential to create a superbug.

The HPV vaccines came out and were able to be administered to the public in July of

2006. That was only twelve years ago. Almost every vaccine that is considered a standard
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vaccination has been studied on for decades to see its long term effects on the population. The

HPV vaccine’s longest study was done on the brand Gardasil. The longest trial for Gardasil

lasted five years, and the longest trial that was done on young girls taking Gardasil lasted only

eighteen months (Gulli). The other side argues that women should be administered the HPV

vaccine, because 81% of those who participated in the study had a reduction in risk of infection

or precancerous cervical lesions associated with HPV strains 16 and 18, but that still leaves 19%

of people affected (Gulli). In addition, this study was not done on males of any ages. Men have

different body structures and hormones than women, so who is to say how it is going to affect

them. In another study on HPV vaccines with a brand called Cervarix, it showed similar statistics

on the effectiveness of the vaccine, but the problem is they studied women who were 25 years

and older (London). This means they did not test on young girls or boys, which is who the HPV

vaccine is marketed for.

Since Wakefield, a doctor that falsified a study to say that vaccines are associated with

autism, came out with his misleading and untrue results from his trial, parents around the globe

have been questioning and stopping the use of vaccines for themselves and for their children. It

has been proven time and time again that autism has no correlation with vaccines. Most scientists

and medical doctors hold the opinion that the same thing is happening with the HPV vaccines.

However, statistics show that a quarter of all doctors, mostly being pediatricians, are not

advocates for, or just do not recommend the HPV vaccine at all (“Why Do Doctors Hate This

Vaccine?”). Having your child’s doctor, who has been taking care of them since birth, not

strongly advise, or even discourage the use of the vaccine is an enormous reason to question

receiving, or having your child receive the HPV vaccine. What raises even more questions from

parents is all of the potential adverse side effects that come with the HPV vaccine. In the same
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study with the HPV vaccine brand Cervarix, it was found that “10% of those in the study who

were given the vaccine had an adverse reaction” (London). Those adverse reactions can range

anywhere between a rash at the site of injection, paralysis, seizures, and on more severe cases

can cause blood clots that can ultimately lead to death (London). Although these extreme

reactions are rare, why should you risk having it happen when it is not a for sure thing that the

HPV vaccine will work?

The HPV brand Gardasil only protects against four out of roughly two hundred HPV

strains, so that still leaves people vulnerable to contracting the other strains that can still cause

cervical, vaginal, penile, and throat cancer. Granted, two of the strains Gardasil protects against

are the most common, strains 16 and 18, but what is stopping the other HPV strains from

attacking and becoming more prevalent now that the top strains are out of their way (Gulli)?

Cervarix, the other HPV vaccine brand, is even worse than Gardasil in protection. Cervarix

protects against only two HPV strains, strains 16 and 18, out of approximately two hundred HPV

strains (London). In these studies, the HPV vaccines are merely 81% effective, so that leaves the

other unaffected 19% room for mutation and reproduction, which will cause a superbug.

Superbugs are bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. that cannot be stopped with medication, or in this

case, vaccines. In the article, “Introduction to Superbugs,” it explains that antibiotics were the

“cornerstone for modern medical treatment for nearly a century,” and the article further explains

that antibiotics have recently stopped working, “but the drugs aren’t growing weaker, the

bacteria are growing stronger.” HPV is a virus, and you will be granted a reduction in risk of the

possibility of contracting the virus by a vaccine. However, with the strain already being powerful

enough to stop 19% of those administered from being protected, that means it is already on the
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path of growing stronger and inhibiting the effects of the vaccine- therefore, it is in the process of

making it a superbug.

The company Merck is one of the main contributors to the HPV vaccines. The vaccine

for HPV was made in 2006 and they of course had their original campaign, but since more

parents are not vaccinating their young girls and boys, they are now re-campaigning. Parents feel

as though their commercials are guilt-trips because in Merck’s commercial, it is of a girl with

cervical cancer and she has a flashback to when she was roughly twelve and asks her parents

why they did not give her the vaccine to prevent it (McGinley). In their marketing, they do not

talk about how to prevent contracting the HPV strains that will cause cervical, vaginal, throat, or

penile cancer, which is prevented with the practice of safe sex. Because that is such a difficult

conversation, they are suggesting that we administer a drug that has a high rate of adverse

reactions to avoid the discussion. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, so why is Merck

avoiding saying that people can avoid cancer with the practice of safe sex in their commercials?

Vaccines are immensely important for the population to survive and stay healthy. There

has been a massive amount of research done on almost every single vaccine because they are so

complex and they need the decade-long studies to show how they function and if they will

continue to prosper in the human body. However, the HPV vaccines were not given the same

elaborate treatment and time to be studied on. Since HPV vaccines were only studied for a short

amount of time and only on women we do not know if they can prosper, we do not know what

kind of superbugs they can cause, and we do not know if the adverse reactions will only get

worse. The safest thing to do for the young children that these HPV vaccines are marketed for is

to let more studies be completed and to let the vaccine be perfected before making it a standard

vaccination. The HPV vaccines are not worth the potential adverse effects when you could just
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practice safe sex. To prevent cervical, vaginal, throat, and penile cancer, we should be educating

more adults and young children on how serious sexually transmitted infections are and how easy

it is to prevent them. Condoms are made to prevent sperm, bodily fluids, viruses, and bacteria to

pass through them, allowing both parties to get prevention of contracting those said things

(Pollitt). Using condoms means that people can prevent contraction and the spreading of HPV by

practicing safe sex. Abstinence is a definite way of preventing HPV contraction, but in reality it

is very unlikely for people to practice it. By teaching safe sex and promoting it, you are actually

benefiting society by teaching them how not to get the diseases that come along with the use of

no condom.
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Works Cited

Gulli, Cathy, et al. “The Cervical Cancer Vaccine Has Not Been Proven Safe or Effective.”

Maclean’s, 2009, http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/viewpointsdetailspage. Accessed 9 July

2018.

"Introduction to Superbugs: At Issue." Superbugs, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven

Press, 2016. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010972101. Accessed 31 July 2018.

London, S. “Bivalent HPV vaccine is efficacious among women older than 25.” International

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, vol. 41, 1, 2015, p. 52+. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A419412791. Accessed 9 July

2018.

McGinley, Laurie. "Analysis: Do the new Merck HPV ads guilt-trip parents or tell hard truths?

Both." Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints In Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A460480619. Accessed 22 July 2018.

Pollitt, Katha. "Condoms Prevent HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases." Birth Control,

edited by Beth Rosenthal, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing

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Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010568223. Accessed 24

July 2018. Originally published as "Is the Pope Crazy?" Nation, 16 Oct. 2003.

"Why Do Doctors Hate This Vaccine?" Daily Beast, 26 Oct. 2015. Opposing Viewpoints In

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A434705740/OVIC. Accessed 22 July 2018.