Gardasil

Human papillomavirus vaccine

According to the CDC, as of 2012, use of the HPV vaccine had cut rates of infection with HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 in half in American teenagers (from 11.5% to 4.3%) and by one third in American women in their early twenties (from 18.5% to 12.1%).

Research findings that pioneered the development of the vaccine began in 1991 by investigators Jian Zhou and Ian Frazer in The University of Queensland, Australia. Researchers at UQ found a way to form non infectious virus like particles (VLP), which could also strongly activate the immune system. Subsequently, the final form of the vaccine was developed in parallel, by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, the University of Rochester, the University of Queensland in Australia, and the US National Cancer Institute. In December 2014, the FDA approved Gardasil 9, which protects against nine strains of HPV.

A few conservative groups, such as the Family Research Council (FRC), have expressed their fears that vaccination with Gardasil might give girls a false sense of security regarding sex and lead to promiscuity, but no evidence exists to suggest that girls who were vaccinated went on to engage in more sexual activity than unvaccinated girls. Merck, the manufacturer of the vaccine, has lobbied that state governments make vaccination with Gardasil mandatory for school attendance, which has upset some conservative and libertarian groups. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, issued an executive order adding Gardasil to the state's required vaccination list, which was later overturned by the Texas legislature. Even though Perry also allowed parents to opt out of the program more easily, Perry's order was criticized, by fellow presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann during the 2012 Republican Party presidential debate as being an overreach of state power in a decision properly left to parents.

In June 2013, the Japanese government issued a notice that "cervical cancer vaccinations should no longer be recommended for girls aged 12 to 16" while an investigation is conducted into certain adverse events including pain and numbness in 38 girls. The vaccines sold in Japan are Cervarix, made by GSK plc (formerly GlaxoSmithKline) of the United Kingdom, and Gardasil, made by Merck Sharp & Dohme. An estimated 3.28 million people have received the vaccination; 1,968 cases of possible side effects have been reported. In January 2014, the Vaccine Adverse Reactions Review Committee concluded that there was no evidence to suggest a causal association between the HPV vaccine and the reported adverse events, but did not reinstate proactive recommendations for its use. A study on girls in Sapporo showed that since the Japanese government's suspension of recommending the vaccine, completion rates for the full course of vaccination have dropped to 0.6%.