Editor's Note: This article is about a mature subject matter. I strongly suggest you speaking to your parents or to a health teacher prior to and after reading this article.
Hello Whyvillians! It's me, rochrox, here with yet another article! But today my article isn't about Canada, it's about a new medical advancement. For the last four years, scientists and doctors have been developing a new vaccine for girls ages 9 - 26, called Gardasil. In Ontario, the vaccine is available to grade 8 girls at school. I did a little research on the vaccine, to see if it was worth getting, and I thought I should share my findings with the girls on Whyville, so they can look at getting the vaccine too.
I'm sure that many of you have seen a commercial on TV for the Gardasil vaccine, but you may still not know what it's for. Gardasil is the only vaccine available today that helps guard against diseases that are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) Types 6, 11, 16, and 18. Any clearer? Maybe not. Let me explain.
HPV is a virus that is transmitted between people through any kind of sexual activity involving genital contact. Sounds pretty easy to avoid, right? The only catch is that most people don't know that they have HPV, let alone that they're spreading the virus, because there are rarely any symptoms. Many of you have been to the Center for Disease Control in Whyville, but there's also a CDC in real life! The real-life CDC says that about 6 million new cases of HPV occur every year, and that 74% of the cases are in 15 - 24 year olds.
So what's so bad about this HVP? There's no symptoms after all.
Well, the virus itself may seem unimportant, but the consequences of HPV are high. HPV can cause cervical cancer, or genital warts, and neither of those are a good thing to have. So it's Gardasil's job to prevent HPV, so that the virus will never lead to more serious conditions.
But you said that Gardasil only prevents types 6, 11, 16 and 18. That's not very many types!
It may seem that way, but remember, big things can come in small packages. HPV types 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer, and HPV types 6 and 118 prevent 90% of genital warts. So you're really protecting yourself against the worst types of HPV!
But why should I get the vaccine now? After all, I'm only in grade 8, what do they expect me to be doing?
There has been a lot of social controversy about the suggested age to be vaccinated, but remember, Gardasil helps to prevent HPV, not to treat it. So it's better to just get vaccinated now, to protect yourself before you're even too old to worry about HPV!
I'm still not convinced. I've read articles about Gardasil and it still seems pretty sketchy to me.
The F.D.A (Food and Drug Administration) has deemed Gardasil 100% of the time effective against the 4 strains of HPV that it protects against. And no matter what you read, Gardasil has already been tested and approved, we're not acting as guinea pigs in some pig experiment.
Here's some other facts about Gardasil, HPV etc.
*Gardasil is given in 3 doses over 6 months
*Gardasil and the Hep B vaccine are the only two vaccines the prevent types of cancer.
*In the US, Gardasil costs $360, making it the most expensive vaccine on the market (the vaccine is being offered for free in school in some provinces in Canada).
*Over 250 000 women die of cervical cancer each year, and researches believe that number will increase dramatically by 2050 if nothing is done.
*In Canada, about 400 women die of Cervical Cancer each year, and another 1350 are diagnosed.
*Gardasil is the first and only vaccine approved in Canada and the US to prevent HPV.
*PAP tests (cervical cancer screenings) are still very important even if you've received Gardisal.
If the Gardasil vaccine is being offered at your school, check out the websites listed below, and do some research on your own. Talk to your parents, and make a decision. Try talking about it in the BBS (though the filter might give you some difficulty), and talk about it with your friends. Getting the Gardisal vaccine may just be one of the best decisions you make for you!
This has been rochrox, jamming to the Barenaked Ladies!
Author's Note: Sources: http://www.gardasil.com/, http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cancer/gardasil.html
