Politicians, can I see your MD?

Gardasil is one of the more controversial vaccines of the modern age, but I got my third and final dose of it today. Gardasil has caused both sides of the political spectrum to make some ignorant statements and decrease the effect of a vaccination that could potentially save many lives.

Gardasil is one of the 2 FDA approved vaccines for HPV- the Human Papillomavirus. HPV has been known to cause cervical and vaginal cancers in women, penile and anal cancers in men and some head and throat cancers in both genders. Obviously HPV is a big deal, so why isn’t its vaccine more popular? Why is there so much controversy surrounding a vaccine that could prevent cancers? Why are 70% of girls and even less boys in the target ages not receiving a vaccine that could save their life?

Politics.

Politicians have been makes egregious statements about the vaccine. Representative Michele Bauchmann attacked Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011 for being the first to make the Gardasil vaccine mandatory. Republican Presidential candidates were trying to get better ratings and in her attempt to smear Governor Perry, Rep. Bauchmann called Gardasil dangerous on TV and claimed she knew a mother whose daughter became “mentally retarded” after receiving the vaccine.

Rather than call into question Perry’s ties with Merck, the Gardasil manufacturers, she attacked the vaccine itself. The chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, Otis Brawley, called out the ignorant statement. “It’s an insult that people are not looking at the evidence,” says Brawley. “It’s a tragedy that we could prevent people from dying from cervical and head and neck cancer but our society just can’t bring itself to have an open, rational, scientific discussion about the facts.”

Besides Rep. Bauchmann, many conservatives have stated that giving girls protection against HPV, which is often transmitted sexually, is like giving them a permission slip to be promiscuous. But if a state like Texas can make the HPV vaccine mandatory, then everyone can. After the 2006 introduction of the vaccine, teen HPV rates were cut in half. A study published in Pediatrics found that giving Gardasil to teens did not increase their sexual activity or change their sexual behaviors. Both sexually experienced and inexperienced young women between the ages of 13 and 24 were surveyed, and researchers found that the “vast majority” of participants still believed it was important to practice safe sex after getting the HPV vaccine.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the problem is “Big Pharma.” Just before the release of Gardasil, Merck had to recall their arthritis pill Vioxx because it was causing heart attacks. They had advertised it pretty aggressively and after the slew of lawsuits coming their way post-recall, their image was tainted.

Liberals on the far left are/were arguing that mandating the vaccine was just going to give more power to Big Pharma and weakened the FDA’s authority with claims that the agency was too cozy with the drug industry. Merck was back at it with mass marketing Gardasil despite their problems with Vioxx. Gardasil sales took a huge dip in 2010, with sales falling from $1.5 billion in 2007 to nearly $1 billion in 2010.

The problem with politicians trying to talk about vaccines and the drug industry is that their focus is on getting votes, not spreading medical truths.

“If you look at both sides of the political spectrum I’m amazed and appalled by the lack of knowledge that’s being put forward as knowledge,” says Robert Ruffolo, former head of research at Wyeth. “They’re not scientists, they’re not physicians, and many politicians will say almost anything during election season.”

Ruffolo is right about politicians saying anything. They want to pander to voters and a Thomas Reuters/NPR Health Poll found that 1 in 4 Americans believe that there are safety concerns associated with vaccines. If pandering to voters means making inaccurate statements about vaccines, so be it.

But politicians need to get out of the medical business. Too often we see them trying to get involved with topics they know nothing about. Just look at the reactions to the Hobby Lobby case, anti-abortion laws and medical marijuana laws- politicians will make false statements concerning the health of American citizens to earn the votes of some rather than put away their fake MDs and allow the FDA and CDC to do their jobs.

Too many people are going to contract HPV and cancers because they won’t get the Gardasil vaccine. Yes, the vaccine does have side effects, like almost anything does. To be honest, I hated getting my doses because it makes me really sick. But I got over the nausea and pain within a few hours and now have protection against many cancers, including the cervical cancer that my mother had. Go get your HPV vaccination as soon as possible if you haven’t already!

Next time a politician makes a statement or claim about any medical issue, make sure to check for a valid MD. Do they even have one? If they do, what field do they work in and is it related to the topic they’re discussing? If not, refuse to sell them your vote on the issue.

Sources:

Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/04/04/americas-gardasil-problem-how-politics-poisons-public-health/3/

USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/03/hpv-vaccination-sex/5035033/