Parents are turning their back on the new Gardasil HPV vaccine, and are refusing to allow their teenage daughters to have the jab that is supposed to protect against cervical cancer. They say the vaccine is dangerous and unnecessary.
Nearly half the parents polled in a survey are saying ‘no’ to the Gardasil vaccine, which was launched in the UK last autumn. The survey, carried out by the Mayo Clinic, shows an increasing trend of parents across the US who are refusing the vaccine. By 2010, 44 per cent of parents were refusing to have their daughter vaccinated.
Their reasons ranged from having a lack of information about the vaccine, to seeing it as unnecessary or dangerous.
The trend against the vaccine reflects the growing concerns about its safety. Several websites have been created in the memory of the thousands of young girls who have died or suffered permanent harm after being given the vaccine.
Other vaccines highlighted in the same survey didn’t trigger safety concerns.
(Source: Pediatrics, March 18, 2013; doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2384).
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