Dachel Wake Up: Merck Shames Parents into Vaccinating with Gardasil
July 15, 2016, Providence (RI) Journal: There's a shocking new ad shaming parents for not giving their children this unpopular vaccine
By Lydia Ramsey
"Maybe they didn't know I would end up with cancer because of HPV," a man says, as pictures of him as a pre-teen boy flash across the screen. "Maybe if they'd known there was a vaccine to help protect me when I was 11 or 12."
"Maybe my parents just didn't know, right Mom? Dad?"
It's a new ad for Gardasil, the HPV — or human papillomavirus — vaccine made by Merck. And it's taking an obviously daring approach to try and win a public health campaign that Merck has struggled with since the drug was developed in 2006.
...The vaccine's had a hard time catching on. Because HPV is sexually transmitted, some parents tend to worry that if their kids get the vaccine they’ll feel as if it’s acceptable to have sex.
To counter that, Merck, has been running direct-to-consumer ads aimed at educating the public about what HPV is and what it can do, though it doesn't name the vaccine by name. The ad has been airing nationally as well as on Hulu.
Reporter Ramsey got it half right. She said this is an "unpopular vaccine." Where, of course, she fails to know what she's talking about is when she blames resistance to Gardasil on parental fears about promiscuity. If Ramsey really did her job as a journalist, she'd have talked to a half dozen parents who object to this vaccine and learn about their reasons. I almost positive they're not going to talk about promoting sex. There are countless stories circulating on side effects--everything from death, to debilitating paralysis.
Ramsey needs to understand that in the real world parents can easily access information beyond what Merck is saying about Gardasil.
Reporting like this makes mainstream news sources more and more irrelevant.
HERE'S MY IDEA FOR A COMMERCIAL.
It would show a young woman in a wheelchair.
She would say, "I am paralyzed from a vaccine that my parents and my doctor said would prevent cancer. I used to be perfectly healthy. I played all kinds of sports: soccer, tennis and competitive swimming. Who knew that Gardasil could cause things like rheumatoid arthritis, seizures, and excessive fatigue? Who knew that the federal Vaccine Court has paid out over $6 million to Gardasil victims? Who knew that the federal government has even compensated for deaths resulting from Gardasil?"
Young woman asks, "Did you know, Mom? Dad?"
Voiceover: "Parents need to research this vaccine for themselves. Talking to your child's doctor will only give you what they've been told by the Merck rep in their waiting room. Your child's doctor has no liability for side effects from this vaccine. Did you know,. Mom? Dad?"
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
Dear AOA,
Please keep the heat on, keep reporting on the HPV scam. I've heard so many people in the past several weeks tell how they are being pressured, hard sell, into getting their kids this damn vaccine. It is a horrific campaign I suspect the likes of which we have never seen. What the hell is wrong with pediatricians?
Posted by: Linda1 | July 20, 2016 at 11:53 AM
I tried to watch tv this week and remembered why I can't. The "Mom and Dad did you know" made me want to jump through the television. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR that's all I can say. You know some of the parents are gonna fall for the guilt trip they have hung out there for the taking.
Posted by: Kathie Soracco | July 20, 2016 at 10:49 AM
Saw this puke-fest of a commercial on the weekend. Fear, propaganda, emotional blackmail - still trying to find the words to express the level of disgust i have for this industry. I have lost too many friends to various forms of cancer, all younger than me. I doubt any blamed their parents for things they might have done differently. Witness a new low, even for Merck.
Posted by: rt | July 20, 2016 at 12:41 AM
Please sign this petition to the FTC re the HPV commercial. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/266/844/088/merck-hpv-vaccine-television-commercial/
Posted by: Tim Lundeen | July 19, 2016 at 02:54 PM
@john stone thanks for the reminder and link! Super quote.
@bob moffit thanks for the reminder about Katie Couric. Definitely done "to encourage the others".
Posted by: Tim Lundeen | July 19, 2016 at 02:47 PM
I don't know if this has been posted anywhere on age of autism site. But comma this is quite interesting to say the least. http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article90300877.html.
Posted by: Visitor | July 19, 2016 at 11:20 AM
Obviously the CIA did not coin the term "conspiracy theory", they exploited it.
Posted by: John Stone | July 19, 2016 at 09:43 AM
@ Hans
"The CIA Coined the Term “Conspiracy Theorist“ in 1967. Specifically, in April 1967, the CIA wrote a dispatch which coined the term “conspiracy theories” …
The following "documentary" .. "The Conspiracy theory ... conspiracy" .. though long .. is well worth watching ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuQTtw_nLoA )
In addition .. the CIA has also instituted the use of "plausible denial" .. by which the CIA can easily "deflect" their association with a particularly troublesome mission gone horribly astray .. such as .. Bengazi .. where the initial "plausible denial" for the attack on our embassy was blamed on a "film" dishonoring Muslims .. rather than terrorism.
Those insisting autism has always been here .. find great comfort in the "plausible denial" the otherwise inexplicable increase in autism is due to "better diagnosing" or "broader definition of the autism spectrum".
Hey .. both .. the CIA's ... Conspiracy theory and plausible denial .. have served not only their own agency well .. but .. both tactics meant to discredit TRUTH .. are highly valued tools of a dishonest major media ... on a number of controversial issues in our every day lives.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | July 19, 2016 at 08:51 AM
Hans
Just to note that professor of history Jonathan Rose (Drew University) commented in these columns a few months ago:
"Today the label "conspiracy theory" is applied to any allegation of government or corporate wrongdoing, but originally it had a much narrower and precise meaning. In his classic "The Paranoid Style in American Politics", historian Richard Hofstadter carefully drew that distinction. A conspiracy theory of history, Hofstadter argued, portrayed "conspiracy as the motive force in historical events". It imagined that the machinations of some small group (Freemasons, Jews, the Illuminati) explained all of history over the centuries -- and that, of course, was completely daft. But Hofstadter readily acknowledged the reality of more mundane conspiracies. "There are conspiratorial acts in history," he wrote, "and there is nothing paranoid about taking note of them. This is true. All political behavior requires strategy, many strategic acts depend for their effect upon a period of secrecy, and anything that is secret may be described, often with but little exaggeration, as conspiratorial." It's a useful quotation to remember when you're accused of conspiracy-mongering."
http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/01/age-of-autism-weekly-wrap-yes-its-a-conspiracy.html
Hofstadter's book dates from 1965.
Of course, what is involved is quackbusting rhetoric, techniques for dismissing things using inappropriate comparisons. We are being told if you believe x you will be ridiculed - flat earth, tin foil hats etc...a socially manipulative technique. Why, then, can't they find a better argument. Think of Hillary:
"The science is clear: The earth is round, the sky is blue, and #vaccineswork. Let's protect all our kids. #GrandmothersKnowBest"
Mind you she does not say that they work all the time, or that they are safe.
Posted by: John Stone | July 19, 2016 at 06:42 AM
Anne writes:
"If Ramsey really did her job as a journalist, she'd have talked to a half dozen parents who object to this vaccine and learn about their reasons."
I think Ramsey did what ALL "health reporters" do when writing about Gardasil .. they think for about one minute on writing the truth .. then think immediately of Katie Couric .. who did an entire show that was fair and balanced on Gardasil .. only to be savaged by the pharma troll media .. her career all but ended from that moment on. If they could do it to Couric .. imagine how long Ms. Ramsey would be gainfully employed? Consider ........
Barbara Loe Fisher
"The public flogging of veteran broadcast journalist Katie Couric began on December 4, 2013, immediately after a 17-minute report on HPV and Gardasil vaccine was broadcast on her TV talk show "Katie."1 It was kick-started by a west coast business writer, who administered the first lash with a bizarre take-down of freedom of the press:
"The real punch of the show was its portrayal of HPV vaccination as 'controversial,'" he charged. "Merely to ask questions is to validate them."
He ended with a sucker punch:
"Katie Couric established her credibility as a spokeswoman for preventive medicine more than a decade ago... now she'll be known for promoting junk medicine instead."2
The full article at:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/18/gardasil-vaccine.aspx
Posted by: Bob Moffit | July 19, 2016 at 06:19 AM
Mind games , MK Ultra , trickery , they'll try anything .
The CIA Coined the Term “Conspiracy Theorist“ in 1967. Specifically, in April 1967, the CIA wrote a dispatch which coined the term “conspiracy theories” …
and recommended methods for discrediting such theories. The dispatch was marked “psych” – short for “psychological operations” or disinformation – and “CS” for the CIA’s “Clandestine Services” unit.
To this day “Conspiracy Theorist” has been the “gold standard” for those in the Media and Government to try and control the narrative with it’s use. (~pj)
Posted by: Hans Litten | July 19, 2016 at 05:27 AM