OPPapers.com

Gardasil Vaccine

Gardasil is a vaccine developed by the Merck pharmaceutical company that helps protect against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18.   These different strains of the virus can cause any of the following:   cervical cancer, abnormal and precancerous lesions of the vagina, vulva, and genital warts.   According to the CDC in 2003 the incidence of HPV in women ages 20-24 was at about 45%. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/downloads/mtg-slides-feb08/15-4-hpv.pdf
Gardasil does not contain any live virus or dead virus, only virus-like particles, which cannot be reproduced in the human body.   It is a vaccine indicated in girls and women 9-26 years in age for the prevention of HPV, cervical cancer, and genital warts.   The recommended dosage schedule for Gardasil is noramally 3 scheduled, separate doses of 0.5 ml-intramuscular injections using the following schedule:
First dose: at a patient elected date
Second dose: 2 months after the first dose
Third dose:   6 months after the first dose
There are precautions to getting this vaccine.   Gardasil can interact with certain medications and should not be used by women who are on blood thinners/ (anticoagulants), or steroid therapy, should not get the injection because of adverse reactions.   Another thing to consider is that if you have a compromised immune system, you should not get the vaccine, and also you should not get the vaccine if you have any allergy to yeast.   Gardasil does not contain any live or dead virus but can still cause infections at the injection site if the patient has an allergic reaction to the vaccine.   http://cervical-cancer.emedtv.com/gardasil/gardasil-precautions-and-warnings.html
There is controversy surrounding this vaccine because there are those who believe that Gardasil may cause some parents think twice about giving a vaccine against a STD to pre-teens. Other parents might not want a vaccine against a STD at all, believing that their children could not be at risk. And...