Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Merck’s vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV), Gardasil, be given to all 11- and 12-year-old boys. One key part of the recommendation is the claim that reducing HPV in men will reduce transmission to girls and women, and thereby prevent cervical cancer deaths.
But despite Merck’s claims, the question of whether Gardasil will reduce cervical cancer deaths in real-world conditions has actually never been answered. The company-sponsored studies on the subject looked at cervical changes that aren’t indicative of cervical cancer in the first place.
According to Discover Magazine:
“Merck says that in males, the vaccine is 89 percent effective against genital warts and 75 percent effective against anal cancer. On closer inspection, some of the numbers don’t just deflate, they evaporate ... So how did the HPV vaccine become a multi-billion-dollar winner for Merck? Well you might not be surprised to hear that the company happily lavished money on doctors, professional societies, and over 100 legislators.”