Re: [UUPoly-L] CPN February Special Event

["Brigitte Fires" <brigittefires@gmail.com>]

FYI, since HPV can be spread thru skin-to-skin, non-fluid contact,
with the area AROUND the gentials but not just the genitals themself,
existence of a condom only barely lowers the risk of contracting from
an infected person. By which I mean to say, your statement that HPV is
prevented thru condom use is wrong. Please feel free to do more
research on the topic.

And in fact, I will tell you people are not that stupid. I won't say
NO ONE is that stupid, there are obviously misconceptions and
misinformation about sex and the transmission of STDs and STIs, a fact
that you so clearly demonstrated. However, not *everyone* is so stupid
as to believe that because you've been vaccinated against something
that means you cannot possibly get it. I would even hazard to guess
that anyone who has gotten a flu vaccine probably knows that since you
can still get the flu after having that, other vaccines are taken with
the same modicum of risk that it won't work or won't protect you when
the virus mutates.

I will say, however, that I too am concerned about the long-term
effects of the vaccine. There were serious issues with the polio
vaccine, yes? Issues that weren't found in testing. Now, whether more
testing could ever have revealed those issues, we may never know. But
there comes a point where you can only do so much testing. Eventually
you HAVE to release it on the general public, and deal with any side
effects that come up, because there's no way to have a test sample
that big without doing so. Maybe 1% of the population who have it will
get some horrible mutation or defect. But with test samples in the
small millions or lower, there is NO POSSIBLE way to prove that's from
the drug.

Fact is, they got to the point where testing had yielded as much
result as they could get, and now, yes, we the general public are test
dummies. But people refusing to get vaccinated on some offshot chance
that OMG there MIGHT be side effects that never showed up in
testing... well, that just means it will take longer for those to show
up, won't it? If it will take 2 million vaccinations before they
notice a problem, then it will take the whole 2 million before it
comes up, whether that's 2 million in 6 months or 2 million in 10
years. Why not find the potential, currently-imaginary problem as
quickly as possible so it can be fixed? **

If I had a daughter of an age to be vaccinated with Gardisil, I
honestly do not know if I would get her vaccinated. I did get myself
vaccinated, but then I made the choice to take that risk, and I will
be the one to deal with the consequences, if any, because the
possible, imaginary consequences which may or may not exist are a
smaller risk than the very likely possibility that I will get HPV, as
a sexually active, non-monogamous 20-something. I'd rather protect
myself as much as possible from the known risks where I DO have the
opportunity to do so.


**of course that's your choice to make and I respect that, and I
respect those who weigh their options and make a decision rather than
avoid it out of fear or willful ignorance.

Brigitte

On 13/02/2008, Roza <alliumphobia@hotmail.com> wrote:
also, i worry about anything that makes people think they can afford
to be casual about using condoms.  HPV  can be prevented by using
condoms, just as can almost all the other STIs.  vaccines for only
some of them could lead some people to believe they don't need to be
as careful.  and don't tell me people aren't that stupid.