Today our daughter who’s in grade eight is supposed to be taking needle 1 of 3 of Gardasil.  If you’re not familiar with this injection;

Gardasil is designed to prevent infection with HPV types 16, 18, 6, and 11. HPV types 16 and 18 cause about 70% of HPV-related cervical cancer cases. In addition, some types of HPV, particularly type 16, have been found to be associated with oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma, a form of throat cancer. HPV types 6 and 11 cause about 90% of genital wart cases. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer, the 7th most common cause of death from cancer among women worldwide.

Until there is more information about the longevity of the  drug and  information about the possible dangers from longterm side effects, we’ve decided to prevent our daughter from getting the needle today. It’s not as if we’re saying we’ll never give permission for her or her younger sister to get the needle, we’re just waiting a bit to see if more information will be released so we can then make a better decision.

What are your thoughts on this drug? Would you allow your 13yr daughter to get it, since it’s so new to the market?