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Gardasil Vaccination?
I was wondering if any other moms have yet had to weigh the options of whether to vaccinate their daughters 9 and over against HPV (a virus causing cervical cancer).
At my daughter's last checkup, the doctor recommended I have her vaccinated. I've seen the Guardasil commercials and have been perusing their website (http://www.gardasil.com/) and it sounds like an amazing breakthrough to be honest.
I am not meaning to start a debate on whether vaccinations "in general" are good or bad. I know there's a decent number of people out there who choose not to vaccinate, because they feel passionate about the risks, potential link to autism, etc. I am not one of them, however. My daughter has been vaccinated with all the "usual" stuff up until now.
I guess the whole HPV/Guardasil vaccine seems so "new" to me though, so I guess I'm just a little hesitant, and wanting more information. Guess I'll keep reading! But thought I'd see if any of you were in the same boat?
Comments
When I was approached by my daughter's doctor about the vaccine I had already heard about it. I worked in women's health and got word of the vaccine before it came out. I was concerned about my daughter's need to receive it so I read up on it as you have and I also spoke to the reps that promote it. I also took the opportunity to discuss this with various doctors in the field. Some were for and some were against it. I do know it covers "some" forms of the HPV virus that can cause cancer.
I have read that the vaccine is given to them up to the age of 24. My daughter is 15, soon to be 16, so I have decided to wait until my daughter is 18 and have her make an informed decision on wether or not to get the vaccine. I will have her doctor discuss this with her. I am with you on obtaining the "must have" vaccinations, but this vaccine is a choice to obtain so I will allow my daughter to make an informed decision on whether or not she would like to have it.
Since she didn't have the choice of wether or not to get the others, I will let her choose this one.
Hope this helps!! Good luck on the decision!!
Smile Always!
SuperMoM
That's a good approach--letting her make her own decision, plus it gives them a few more years to work out the bugs, LOL. I just feel nervous because to me, it's still so NEW that I feel like what if other risks are discovered say, a year from now. You can't UNvaccinate, so I'm just hesitant to jump in.
The more I talk to people about it, the more people I find that are also hesitant. I think the level of marketing and advertising they're giving this drug is almost TOO much, and makes people feel uneasy.
Thanks for your input--I really appreciate it! Have a nice weekend!