For those of you who are old enough to remember the 1970s, you may remember waiting in long lines to get vaccinated against the swine flu that was sweeping the nation at that time … likely because you were alerted by television PSAs such as this one:
 
In case you were wondering, this is not the same swine flu of three-plus decades ago, according to MSNBC. If you had that vaccine – or even your annual flu shot just months ago – you should not consider yourself immune. Check the MSNBC story for for more FAQs on the swine flu. 
Video & …read more

A few months ago, Sarah Collins Honenberger joined in the discussion about whether the HPV vaccine Gardasil should be mandated for American girls. Shortly thereafter, she was kind enough to send me her novel, White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception, which is inspired by the real-life events of North Carolina mother Lacy Kellam, whose baby experiences seizures and ultimately debilitating brain damage as a result of receiving the government-mandated DPT vaccine in the late 1960s.
Despite the obvious negative light in which this book paints mandatory vaccines, Honenberger is not explicitly anti-vaccine. She’s pro-education for parents.

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been in the news a lot lately because of the new HPV vaccine, which is intended to prevent cervical cancer resulting from HPV infection when administered to women ages 9 to 26 years. How has the introduction of this vaccine, marketed by Merck under the trade name Gardasil, changed the face of HPV in medicine?
In “How Should We Counsel Women About HPV Testing?” on Medscape, Susan J. Wysocki, RNC, NP, FAANP,
President and CEO, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, recommends covering the following points when talking with patients about HPV testing and …read more

On the heels of Wednesday’s article on the closer examination of doctors’ relationships with pharmaceutical companies, an editorial in today’s New York Times calls for some house cleaning on a much higher level, in the FDA.
Earlier this week, Gardiner Harris and Janet Roberts reported in “Doctors’ Ties to Drug Makers Are Put on Close View,”
In dozens of interviews, most doctors said that these payments [from pharmaceutical companies] had no effect on their care of patients.
…
There is nothing illegal about doctors’ accepting money for marketing talks, and professional organizations have largely ignored the issue.
But research shows that doctors who have close …read more

I had no idea I was so controversial, but wow! Over at Weary Parent, we’ve been having an ongoing debate about whether the fast-spreading state mandates for the recently approved HPV vaccine Gardasil is a good idea. Responses have ranged from unmitigated support to moral outrage. Apparently I’m somewhere in the middle, which, it seems, is just as controversial as either of the extremes.
The debate has also carried over to Angela’s Herpes Simplex Help blog, where she and I are having a side discussion in which we both keep repeating ourselves with increasing degrees of urgency. …read more

Earlier this month, Texas became the first state to mandate the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, trade name Gardasil (manufactured by Merck). Reactions are mixed, ranging from praise to righteous indignation, including some folks arguing that it gives girls the idea that extramarital sex is a-okay.
The requirement will take effect in September of next year, and will require that all girls be vaccinated before they enter sixth grade. According to Merck, the vaccine can be administered to girls beginning at age 9, and it’s given as a series of three shots. Says Merck:
GARDASIL is given as 3 injections …read more