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Gardasil Cancer Vaccine Elicits Ire of Christian Right
Posted by Pile
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[Sex] |
| According to Christian fundamentalists, cervical cancer and sexually-transmitted diseases are not nearly as important as avoiding the subject of sex. As a result, Merck's new drug Gardisil may face opposition from church groups who are not happy about the drug and claim its use might encourage promiscuity, even though it may prevent cancer and other diseases. |
Merck & Co. Inc.'s vaccine to prevent the world's most prevalent sexually transmitted infection sailed through a panel of U.S. health experts, despite early fears of opposition from the Christian Right that it might lead to promiscuity and a false sense of security.
The drugmaker's efforts to educate Christian groups while touting the vaccine's top selling point -- prevention of cervical cancer -- helped win them over.
But Merck may ultimately find itself at loggerheads with those same groups as it seeks to make the vaccine mandatory for school admission, a step considered key for widespread acceptance and one that many of the groups oppose.
The vaccine, known as Gardasil, with an estimated $2 billion U.S. market potential, targets four types of sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, or HPV, which is believed to cause more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts. |
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