Merck has done a good job pursuing 25 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 to get its HPV vaccine called Gardasil as shown by the survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006 indicated to prevent cervical cancer induced by a couple of HPV or human papillomavirus. Afterward, the CDC recommended that states require that young girls get vaccinated with this vaccine to prevent this rare cancer.

While trial results indicated the vaccine is highly effective in preventing precancerous lesions in some groups of study participants that could potentially lead to development of cervical cancer, questions about the long term safety and efficacy remain to be answered.

Trials of Gardasil involved largely subjects older than 13 years while the CDC recommends that this HPV vaccine be used in girls age 11. Trials are often very strict in terms of the study population. Age is one of parameters health workers and government officials need to consider when they interpret the trial results.   Applying results derived from trials of older girls to younger girls needs a leap in faith.

In addition, the trials were conducted in a short term, meaning that the long term safety and efficacy of this HPV vaccine remains unknown.   Even the short-term safety is questionable as the federal government has received thousands of reports on severe adverse effects including deaths.

Regardless of the efficacy and safety of the HPV vaccine, cervical cancer although life-threatening to the woman who has acquired it actually occurs in only a very small number of women.   Official data show each year about 4,000 women die from this disease, a risk that is much smaller than the risk of dying from a traffic incident!

There are many strains of HPV, but only a few pose a small risk of cervical cancer.   This virus is self-limiting and most men and women can naturally clear all types of HPV strains in two years and only those women who are vulnerable to persistent infections are at high risk of cervical cancer.   Women who repeatedly get infected with HPV could have underlying problems with their immune defense system making them susceptible to cervical cancer.  Evidence has suggested that HPV per se does not mean any risk for developing cervical cancer.

One fact about the HPV vaccine that may not be well publicized is that this HPV vaccine could do more harm than good in women who have acquired some HPV or those who are vulnerable to repeated infections.

Evidence showed that HPV vaccine does not help women who have had HPV infection.  At least one study has shown that the HPV vaccine can actually increase the risk of cervical cancer in women who were vulnerable to repeated or persistent infections of certain HPV.

Those who consider getting their daughters vaccinated with HPV vaccine or Gardasil need to consider these facts as summarized as follows:

1) Deaths from cervical cancer are rare compared to many other types of life-threatening cancers such as breast cancer. The risk is very small compared to the death risk from traffic incidents and many other risks.

2) The long term safety and efficacy of HPV vaccine remains unknown.   Even if the vaccine works for some girls, it is not known whether or not they need a booster or two later.

3) HPV vaccine boosts risk of cervical cancer in those who are prone to repeated or persistent infections. The vaccine does not work in women who have already had HPV.

4) Getting HPV vaccine does not completely protect girls or women from cervical cancer.  Those who have gotten the vaccine still need to receive Pap test or Pap smear screening just as those who do not get the vaccine.