Now that patients and payers are on to pharma's blockbuster drug agenda, pharma is moving to lucrative vaccines and biologics to remain Wall Street darlings. More $, less generic competition.
Gardasil and other HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines are now hawked on city metro trains, pushed for children and peddled overseas for people who are dying from lack of potable water and malaria not cervical cancer.
Suspicions of government collusion with vaccine makers only surged when former CDC director Julie Gerberding resurfaced as head of Merck vaccines.
While pharma advances the idea of “herd immunity,” which allows the call for vaccinating 8-year-old boys, the vaccines are not effective for all strains, not more effective than Pap smears. They are also only half-measures since booster$ are required.
Some parents are offended at the idea of vaccinating their kids for what is essentially an STD. The push to vaccinate girls especially offended feminists with the implication that HPV is women’s fault or problem.