An interesting piece from the Alliance for Human Research Protection reacts to the financial motivations behind Merck's desperate push for new funding streams in the wake of the Vioxx debacle, namely the needless human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil.

Even more abominable is the campaign to make Gardasil a mandatory vaccine in the United States and a blockbuster that has been dubbed by some as the Help pay for Vioxx litigation, something I warned you about not so long ago.

The numbers, however, tell a different tale. Some 11,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 3,700 die from it this year, according to the American Cancer Society. By comparison, 16 times more American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer (178,480), and 11 times more will die (40,460) from it.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media is falling for this newest brightest vaccine, even though it doesn't protect a women from some non-vaccine HPV types, according to Merck's own information.

Remember, you don't need a high-priced, unproven and worthless vaccine -- more than $350 for a three-dose regimen -- to protect your children from cervical cancer.