Contributed by Mike Bennett
February 12, 2013
Using Merck’s Gardasil vaccine as a case in point, an investigation documents Big Pharma’s near-total control of governmental health agency decisions and the utter lack of concern by the decision makers. However, some scientists are speaking out, and here’s what they have to say.
Researchers are speaking out about the corruption in science with regard to vaccines. Certainly, they’re in the minority, but their expertise and solid evidence for their claims are resulting in both their studies and their concerns being published in medical journals.
The arena of vaccination, which has been adversely affecting so many children, is now a centerpoint for documenting how Big Pharma has taken over so much of science, resulting in outright fraud that’s used to promote their products. Scientists Lucija Tomljenovic, Christopher A. Shaw, Judy Wilyman, Eva Vanamee, and Toni Bark use the example of Merck’s Gardasil, a human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, to demonstrate the point that HPV vaccine activism is not based on science, but instead on misrepresentations of science.
In a letter signed by all five of these scientists, they point out several flaws in the claims that Merck’s Gardasil and Pfizer’s Cervarix make to sell their vaccines:
- HPV vaccines have never been shown to prevent cervical cancer.
- The end-points used in the studies are based on infections and lesions that usually heal without help, so how can they demonstrate efficacy in preventing cancer several years later?
- The trials are biased to produce false negatives and therefore cannot accurately estimate the risk of developing cancer.
- Passive methods of recording adverse effects cannot accurately reflect how prevalent they are.
- Accurate estimates of the actual frequency of HPV vaccine adverse effects cannot be made when such effects are automatically dismissed as unrelated to the vaccine.
- Women are not informed that, in some instances, the HPV vaccines may increase the rate at which existing abnormalities develop, thus causing the cancer from which they’re supposedly being protected.
- When information about HPV vaccine risks and limitations are not provided, women cannot possibly make informed decisions about whether to have the vaccine.
- Health regulators are making decisions based on information provided by the same corporations that hope to profit from them. How can they possibly make rational decisions on such limited and biased information?
Investigation into Merck’s Murky Dealings with Government
“Pharmaceutical Companies’ Role in State Vaccination Policymaking” is an investigation into the lobbying efforts by Merck to promote the HPV vaccine, Gardasil. It states:
Merck engaged in direct lobbying to varying degrees in all of the states we studied. Merck proactively contacted legislators to discuss strategies to maximize uptake of Gardasil, either directly through company employees or by using local political consultants, prominent physicians, or public relations firms.
Many respondents reported that company representatives proposed specific legislation, often drafting the bills and searching for a sponsor. In most states, their efforts focused on a school-entry mandate. Respondents pointed out that Merck’s activities were not unusual, although the public seemed to have been unaware that private companies played such a role in the legislative process. One commented,“Just about every vaccine mandate that we have lately has been the result, at least partially, of the drug industry’s efforts.” [Emphasis mine.]
They asked respondents, who included legislators, health officials, medical professional organizations, advocacy organizations, journalists, health insurers, and clinical researchers, what role pharmaceutical manufacturers should play. The respondents believed that pharmaceutical manufacturers should provide scientific information about the products they push and that it was appropriate for Merck reps to sit on task forces and committee meetings. Worse, though, not one person felt that there was any problem