You gotta love news articles that exist solely to scare the shit out of Americans. Exhibit A: the recent article on CNN about the possible "adverse effects" of the Gardasil HPV vaccination.

The article opens with: "A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer is coming under fresh scrutiny amid thousands of complaints linking it to a range of health problems."

The "thousands of complaints" might be eye-catching, but then the article clarifies that these complaints range from "nausea to paralysis - even death." Meaning the majority of these adverse effects are mere nausea or other mild symptoms, which if you ask me, is worth undergoing for the sake of preventing HPV, which causes roughly 70% of cervical cancer cases and 90% of genital warts cases. As far as the deaths go... ten deaths were reported as being "caused" by Gardasil, but the CDC (that's the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) concluded that none of the ten deaths were linked to the vaccine.

One girl reported developing pancreatitis after getting vaccinated, but Merck & Co. (the company that distributes Gardasil) assures that this has not been defined as a cause of the shot, and the girl getting sick could just be a coincidence.

Now, I'm not usually one to cry "conspiracy," but I'm curious as to where this bad publicity for Gardasil is coming from. Is it a coincidence that all these medical concerns are arising when conservative organizations are already opposing Gardasil because it might "cause" young girls to run right out and have unprotected sex? Who knows.

When I first heard about Gardasil, I was skeptical, but once I found out how easily HPV is spread, I was so grateful that someone developed a shot to prevent it. I wish HPV awareness was more prominent, instead of flimsy articles that try to scare parents out of protecting their daughters.