HPV vaccine

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 2:30am

Kid is scheduled for the HPV vaccine (cervical cancer). I’m not informed enough to get off the fence, but one of the first links I’ve watched is this:

Presumably not fake. Also no doubt a very rare reaction. But is the vaccine even worth that risk?

tando · March 23, 2020, 2:50am

CDC says so.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/safety-effectiveness.html

Five year survival rates of cervical cancer in the US are 68%.

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 2:35am

Then this, from Reddit:

Well, my research is over and it’s time to go. My doctoral thesis is now well under way and I have more than enough information to finish this section of it so thank you all.

My only purpose for coming to this sub (and others) was to examine in detail the claims that anti-vaxxers make. Yes it’s easy to watch VAXXED or read some anti-vaxx publications (I have, by the way) but I needed to engage with the grass roots of the movement so I jumped into the lion’s den, so to speak.

I have come to some conclusions which I thought I’d share with you.

Vaccines are relatively safe and there is no proof otherwise. Yes, there are a small number of vaccine-related medical issues but it’s a teeny tiny majority. The benefit/cost ratio remains firmly on the side of vaccines and not one single person has been able to disprove the statistics on this.

There is no proof of a causal link between vaccines and autism and not a single one anti-vaxxer has managed to provide anything more concrete than correlations; even those are from studies with glaring flaws that render the conclusions worthless.

So many anti-vaxxers misrepresent studies and often the same studies. It’s like you all read some kind of manual that told you what to say. When questioned, there is little knowledge of the actual content of the studies, other than the same (or very similar) misleading quotes from them.

The amount of misinformation out there is just staggering. The number of publications that promote this misinformation is the thing that I have found most worrying.

There are many facets to the anti-vaxx argument, which is something I hadn’t quite envisaged. The most surprising is that a lot of it is driven by mistrust of government agencies and / or corporations.

Anti-vaxxers seem to have a deeply entrenched view that isn’t necessarily based on reason.

Needless to say, this is the end of my contribution to this sub. I will be blocking all of my former sparring partners (thank you for your effort) and will not be replying any further.

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 2:42am

Indeed. Most goverment organisations do. What are we to make of the anti-vaccine movement, or their beliefs. Do they have a leg to stand on?

KHHville · March 23, 2020, 2:46am

Only thing we did was limit the # of multi-vaccines to 2 in one shot.
It meant going for a few more visits, but felt better doing so.
To me, those 4-in-1 vaccines seem like 4 punches, bambambambam, to a young person’s system. Too many at one time in my view.

SuperS54 · March 23, 2020, 4:02am

A yes from me, made sure my daughter received it.

Marco · March 23, 2020, 4:21am

Almost all of the daily activities we are engaged in come with a higher risk of injury or death than the HPV vaccine. Especially with things like driving. If you feel driving every day is worth the risk, the HPV vaccine should be a nobrainer.

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 4:32am

Possibly right. It does concern me though that the brochures we receive are too nice, too glossy. So there is never any child who experiences long-term ill-effects from this vaccine?

Whatevah · March 23, 2020, 4:36am

Well HPV does not necessarily equal cancer. It will increase the likelihood.
As for what I think its worth it. I am pro vaccine but I don’t like to shut down debate. Any debate is good.

tando · March 23, 2020, 4:45am

true. According to Wikipedia, more than 90% of cervical cancer are caused by HPV, which doesn’t mean everyone infected with HPV will suffer from cancer. What is the rate of cancer among people infected with HPV, I don’t know. In the United States, high-risk HPVs cause 3% of all cancers in women and 2% of all cancers in men.

fify

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 5:23am

When you search for more detail on the opening youtube link, there is no clear narrative which emerges. Some doctors have claimed the child has a psychological disorder. There doesn’t appear to be a clear and defined causal link to the vaccine.

tando · March 23, 2020, 5:31am

The title says “alleged” reaction.

Nuit · March 23, 2020, 5:34am

It does, but the story implies that there’s a reasonable causal link. Too casual tho!

Marco · March 23, 2020, 5:55am

There are; but it’s not a simple question of if you are or not risking something, it’s a question of which risk do you want to take?

HPV is an infection that almost all adults get at some point in their lives and a lot of the time is asymptomatic. People literally don’t know if they have it or not and is an STD.

It’s either you risk an-up-to-10% chance of developing cancer if infected or risk a 0.00022875% chance of dying from the HPV vaccine.

Sounds like a nobrainer to me.

lostintaipei20 · March 23, 2020, 5:57am

Just my two cents, my grandmother died from cervical cancer at age 60. My sisters and I have all gotten the HPV vaccinations. Because of what happened with my grandmother, it was even more important for me that I received this vaccination. I have never heard of any bad experiences related to this vaccination. Not to say there aren’t any, but the majority of people benefit from this vaccination and I would recommend it to anyone I know. When I have kids, they will also be receiving this vaccination.