In June 2008 a promotional DVD was sent to every General Practitioner (G.P.) in the UK just hours before the launch of the Cervarix vaccine in the UK. The DVD was posted with the G.P. magazine and was a clever marketing strategy aimed at busy G.P.’s to ‘brainwash‘ them into believing that the Cervarix vaccine protected young women from the perils of cervical cancer. With phrases such as ‘Cervarix, the vaccination to prevent cervical cancer’ and convincing animation, the DVD certainly goes all out to convince the medical profession that the vaccine is safe, effective, and a must for all young women.
One organisation that promotes vaccination safety S.A.N.E Vax Inc (http://sanevax.org/) (Safe, Affordable, Necessary and Effective Vaccines) were so shocked at what G.P.’s were told that they have decided to dispel the myths. The organisation has decided to present the G.P.’s and the public with a more accurate description of Cervarix vaccination.
Having seen the DVD myself, I was appalled at how Glaxo Smith Kline market their products to busy G.P.’s.
The film opens up with the line ‘Vaccination to prevent Cervical Cancer‘ This vaccine does not prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine was developed to help prevent cases of the Human Papillomavirus infection which are said to be one of the causes of cervical cancer. Therefore, Cervarix is not a vaccination to prevent cervical cancer. It is a vaccination to help prevent HPV infections. In my opinion, Glaxo Smith Kline have lied about the capabilities of their product with the intention of deceiving the medical profession. By opening a promotional DVD in this way GSK have already convinced their target audience that this vaccine will prevent cervical cancer. It is of little importance what is contained in the rest of the DVD because the G.P.’s will now be ‘brainwashed’ into believing that this vaccine prevents cervical cancer.
I doubt if Glaxo Smith Kline ever expected the DVD, which was sent out over two and half years ago, to ever find its way into the hands of the public. However, a few days ago, a group of professionals, activists, and campaigners had a copy of the DVD sent to them anonymously. One of the groups to receive a copy of the DVD was S.A.N.E. Vax Inc. The S.A.N.E. Vax president Norma Erickson was so shocked when she sat and watched the DVD that she decided to add what she saw as the correct information to the DVD to highlight the inaccuracies.
S.A.N.E. Vax Inc. has made the following statement:
“The SaneVax team finds the information shown in this DVD to be riddled with information that is misleading, half-true, or downright scientifically inaccurate. They feel this is a piece of public relations material that crosses the line into propaganda. If this is the type of information distributed to busy professionals when new ‘miracle cures’ are released. It is no wonder they are confused and/or brainwashed. They do not have the time to examine every piece of promotional ‘literature’ they receive for scientific accuracy.”
S.A.N.E. Vax Inc was so incensed by GSK’s attempts to fool the medical profession that they contacted the other professionals and campaigners who had received the DVD and together they decided to develop a new version. The new DVD aims to present not only the original GSK film but an added extra of their own. This, they hope will show the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what they feel should have been shown in the first place.
Norma Erickson, President of SaneVax, says, “Come on people, this is a no brainer! If a vaccine is not proven to be safe, affordable, necessary and effective, it has no business being on the market; much less, mandated. When it comes to protecting and preserving your health, anything that cannot meet these four simple criteria is just not good enough. We need to bring sanity and science back to the health care industry.”
I now have the pleasure in presenting to you the new revised Glaxo Smith Kline Cervarix film. If G.P.’s are lied to in the first place we can hardly blame them if they give out dangerous and misleading information.
I would like to thank the SaneVax team and the professionals, campaigners and friends who have made this possible.