Hilary's Desk

Funny how “debate” about the MENZB vaccine, becomes acceptable to the Herald, when it comes from the mouths of IMAC, rather than “anti-immunisation extremists”. But here’s the puzzle. The so-called “anti-immunisation extremists” sounding off in 2004 was primarily pro vaccine Ron Law, whose primary quibble was the hiding of just this sort of information. Funny too. He provided that information to journalists pointing to exactly that debate, but where did it get him? Jane O’Hallahan called him an “anti-immunisation menace”. We all rolled around laughing.  Read Full Blog

Apparently, the inability of the Government, or Gardasil's manufacturer CSL to proceed with a full-on advertising campaign to promote Gardasil, is considered by the Herald to be an "attack on Democracy". Incredible. Mike Taylor of CSL biotherapies says “that there is a certain amount of risk" in the CSL planned advertising campaign. You bet there is, when huge sums money are involved. Most of CSL's planned propaganda, using newspapers, magazines, TV and radio advertisements has been deferred in case it is said to support the Government's pre-election campaign. That's what the Herald would like you to think. But there is another, more important story here. The failure of the Herald to discuss the real issues isn’t so much an attack on democracy, as an attack on readers and taxpayers.  Read Full Blog

Have you noticed a subtle shift away from defining a vaccine by initials which stand for the number of vaccine components being given in the one needle? When you see GARDASIL, do you mentally realise that GARDASIL stands for Quadrivalent HPV vaccine, i.e. four different viruses in one needle?  When you see the title PREVENAR, do you realise that that is seven vaccines in one? Read Full Blog

In a previous post,  I brought you medscapes 28 July commentary on Gardasil side effects, which didn't meet their "editorial requirements". Now, we can bring you the replacement version, which popped up today.  Read Full Blog

Everyone should listen to the August 1st 2008 Nine to Noon broadcast on Gardasil, misnamed, The Gardasil Debate  . Kathryn Ryan interviewed Dr Diane Harper from Dartmouth University, who conducted Merck’s Gardasil trials, and then Dr Alison Roberts, who is in charge of defending anything remotely linked to the vaccine programme. Read Full Blog

A fascinating article was published on medscape on 26 July 2008, which vanished about as quickly as it was put on the web. Since it no longer exists, copyright no longer applies as far as I am concerned. I'd hate to deprive you of a long read, which obviously someone considers a very bad omelette. Read Full Blog