“A Wonder Drug’s Dark Side”

A Wonder Drug's Dark Adverse

A paper titled "A Wonder Drug's Dark Adverse" by David Bruser and Jesse McLean, which was published in the Toronto Star, examines various side effect case reports that have since been connected to the Merck vaccine Gardasil. The necessity to assess the report's plausibility regarding the vaccine's efficacy results from the editors' examination. A review of the research reveals that school administrators and the media both have a big part to play in convincing parents and teenagers to think about getting the immunization while downplaying its negative consequences.

Examining the Media's Impact

Examining how the media contributes to the promotion of the use of a contentious drug is one important study subject. It is noted that the mainstream media and political campaigning in schools have been centered on the need to consider the vaccine. 1500 of Merck’s sales reps have targeted women health interest groups with TV ads featuring young girls jumping while declaiming one less cervical cancer case. Other sensitization efforts have involved school health teams and nurses who act to ensure the completion of the doses a confirmation of the article reports. It is affirmed that there has been massive sensitization while omitting the side effects.

International Perspectives

Interest has also been on the findings in other countries apart from the cases report in Canada and the US. Japan’s health ministry is said to have ordered an end to the promotion of the vaccine as investigations into its efficacy are sort. In South Africa, attention has been placed on the need for increased training of health teams and massive coverage of cervical cancer risk and the need for vaccination. It is confirmed that in other countries, the focus has been on the need for positive response by the public with no efforts to cover the associated adverse effect on health.

Scientific Literature Coverage

The coverage of the side effects in the scientific literature has, however, been adequate with research articles detailing the various side effects that have been reported in Canada and the US. The most cited side effects include myalgia, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, nausea, malaise, nasal infection, and nasal congestion with limited reports indicating life-threatening outcomes. In pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, maternal fever, and elective termination constitute the most common side effects. The information is, however, omitted in the news report by Bruser and McLean.

Validity of the News Report

From the review, it is worth noting that the information described in the news is true based on the analysis of literature regarding the outcomes of the drug. The news report is justified following the detailing of the side effects and school officials and health representatives playing a role in the mobilization of teenagers to engage in the vaccination. Despite the finding that the information in the news omits the side effects associated with pregnancy, the article is credible.

Mind Map

Bibliography

Brusser, David and Jesse McLean. “A Wonder Drug’s Dark Side.” The Toronto Star, February, http://torontostar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx.

McLemore, Monica R. “Gardasil: Introducing the New Human Papillomavirus Vaccine.” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing 10, no. 5 (2006): 559–60.

Moodley, Indres, V. Mubaiwa, N. Tathiah, and L. Denny “High Uptake of Gardasil Vaccine among 9 - 12-Yearold Schoolgirls Participating in an HPV Vaccination Demonstration Project in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.” South African Medical Journal 103, no. 5 (2013): 318–21, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.6414.

Moro, Pedro L., Yenlik Zheteyeva, Xin Yue, and Karen Broder. “Safety of Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (Gardasil®) in Pregnancy: Adverse Events among Non-Manufacturer Reports in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, 2006-2013.” Vaccine 33, no. 4 (2015): 519–22, doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.11.047.

Nature Publishing Group. “Flogging Gardasil In Its Rush to Market Its Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Merck Forgot to Make a Strong and Compelling Case for.” Nature Biotechnology 25, no. 3 (2007): 261.