[Provo, October 27. Image via Getty]

PROVO, UTAH - OCTOBER 27: A nurse gives a shot of the H1N1 vaccine to Casie Chatwin (L) as her mom Valerie (R) holds her at the Utah County Health Department October 27, 2009 in Provo, Utah. After health department got a shipment of 4000 vaccines overnight, a large line formed with a wait of four to five hours. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

[Rotterdam, September 30. Image via Getty]

A young girl looks shocked as she is vaccinated two times, in Rotterdam, on September 30, 2009. Approximately 4,000 children are being vaccinated against diseases such as tetanus and measles in Rotterdam today. AFP PHOTO / ANP / ED OUDENAARDEN / netherlands out - belgium out (Photo credit should read ED OUDENAARDEN/AFP/Getty Images)

• New research to be published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology suggests that greater use of mifepristone, aka the abortion pill, has not helped to expand geographic access to abortion services. Most of the abortions performed with mifepristone were done in the same clinics, or nearby clinics, where surgical abortions are also available. • The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue is planning to protest outside of women's health clinics all over the country for 40 days starting on September 23. • Schools in the DC area have begun distributing the HPV vaccine to 6th grade girls. Although parents are allowed to opt out, there is still a group of activists who believe that the vaccine needs more testing. "They are using our girls as guinea pigs," said district resident Tracy Lloyd. • A woman is suing a Chicago zoo after she slipped and fell on water that had been splashed out of the tank by some playful dolphins. She claims the zoo officials "recklessly and willfully trained and encouraged the dolphins to throw water at the spectators in the stands, making the floor wet and slippery. • Sean Lynde of New York has been accused by animal control officials of murdering five of his girlfriend's cats. Authorities say his girlfriend didn't realize he was beating her cats to death and would replace each cat after he killed it. • The BBC has seen a copy of South African 800m world champion Caster Semenya's birth certificate, which proves she is female. She was reportedly so upset about being forced to take a gender verification test that she didn't want to accept her medal. • The cover of the newspaper The Maine Edge features a picture of a young teen girl in a bikini straddling a milk shake above an article called "Milkshakes aren't just for kids any more. Beat the heat with a grown up treat." What does an overly-sexual image of a teen girl have to do with "grown up" treats? •

Before now, the only cervical cancer vaccine available was Gardasil, made by Merck & Co (this is still the only one available in the US, seeing as Cervarix has yet to be approved). The three-shot vaccine usually costs about $360, an expensive price to pay for many living in the West, and virtually impossible for women living in poor countries.

Last year, the global health association GAVI prioritized the purchase of HPV vaccines for the world's 73 poorest nations. An estimated 280,000 women die from cervical cancer each year, and 80% of the deaths are in developing countries. GAVI, formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, is a major buyer of vaccines. The WHO has approved Cervarix for use in the developing world, but it is still unclear how the distribution will be financed.

"We're eager to work with our long-term partner GAVI as well as other private NGOs or governments of developing countries to identify financing mechanisms for the vaccine," said a spokesperson for GloxoSmithKline. "That is why we're exploring a variety of distribution partnerships to ensure Cervarix will protect women and girls around the globe."

"Cervarix can save millions of women's lives throughout the world, but only if it reaches those who need it most," said Jean Stephenne, President of GSK Biologicals.

GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix Gets WHO OK For Poor Countries [Wall Street Journal]
WHO Approves Cervical Cancer Vaccine Cervarix [AP]

In his blog, The White Coat Underground, internist PalMD takes Oprah to task for her claim that, "homeopathy treatment is similar to how a vaccination or immunization works." He counters, "You can measure the antibody response provoked by a vaccine. You cannot measure anything provoked by homeopathy because the only think homeopathy produces is a bill." To Oprah's admission that, "there are different theories behind homeopathy. But lack of convincing evidence is a big concern with homeopathy's acceptance by conventional medical doctors," PalMD responds,

No! Homeopathy's "lack of convincing evidence" is not some problem we uptight "conventional doctors" have—-it is the fundamental problem (along with the absurdity of it) with homeopathy. It has not been shown to work. This is rather important in medicine.

Newsweek's critique is more far-reaching. Writers Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert call Oprah out for her embrace of Suzanne Somers's potentially dangerous "biodentical" hormone regimen, Jenny McCarthy's potentially dangerous argument that vaccines cause autism, and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret, which is potentially dangerous if you, like Oprah's guest Kim Tinkham, take it to mean that you should use positive thinking instead of actual medicine to cure your illnesses. Oprah is in a unique position, they write:

Her most ardent fans regard her as an oracle. If she mentions the title of a book, it goes to No. 1. If she says she uses a particular wrinkle cream, it sells out. At Oprah's retail store in Chicago, women can purchase used shoes and outfits that she wore on the show. Her viewers follow her guidance because they like and admire her, sure. But also because they believe that Oprah, with her billions and her Rolodex of experts, doesn't have to settle for second best. If she says something is good, it must be.

Oprah told ET Online that "I trust the viewers, and I know that they are smart and discerning enough to seek out medical opinions to determine what may be best for them." And in a longer statement released to Newsweek, she said,

The guests we feature often share their first-person stories in an effort to inform the audience and put a human face on topics relevant to them. I've been saying for years that people are responsible for their actions and their own well-being. I believe my viewers understand the medical information presented on the show is just that-information-not an endorsement or prescription. Rather, my intention is for our viewers to take the information and engage in a dialogue with their medical practitioners about what may be right for them.

But the truth is, many do look to Oprah as an oracle. She had far too much power to pretend that her excitement over certain treatments ("After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift," she wrote in her magazine) is just more information or people to consider. Oprah's opinion is persuasive to many people, more persuasive, perhaps, than the advice of their own doctors, and she has a responsibility not to recommend that her viewers sacrifice their money and possibly their health for treatments that have no scientific basis.

Kosova and Wingert say Oprah hasn't given equal weight to critics of Somers or McCarthy's positions. She read a statement by the CDC denying the link between vaccines and autism but then allowed McCarthy to conclude the segment. McCarthy said, "my science is named Evan, and he's at home. That's my science."

Health is unpredictable and scary, and it's natural to want to rely on "my science," to crave a certain feeling of control. Oprah offers that control, telling viewers, "we have the right to demand a better quality of life for ourselves. And that's what doctors have got to learn to start respecting." But this control is an illusion. We can't demand better health from our doctors, from supplements, or from the universe. At some point, we have to take what comes our way. Oprah's message of "living your best life" has been helpful to many people, but sometimes your best life comes from accepting your lot, and looking at your options with a clear, critical eye.

Live Your Best Life Ever! [Newsweek]
Oprah's Website Of Woo—-Can It Change? [ScienceBlogs]
Oprah Responds To Newsweek Report [ETOnline]

[Cannes, May 18. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

• Can depression ever be good for you? Some scientists are arguing that depression serves an evolutionary function, and that medication may keep sufferers from achieving their full potential. • A new study found that teenagers whose mothers drank while they were in the womb are more likely to find the smell of alcohol appealing than their peers with teetotaler moms. • Doctors urged the Obama administration on Wednesday to make a major research commitment to curing and preventing prostate cancer, including a screening technique they call the "man-o-gram." • A pro-vaccine doctor and author of the book Autism's False Prophets has been receiving death threats from angry parents for his uncompromising stance on vaccination. • Stephanie Sheffler, a 16-year-old novelist and one of 11 children, is currently hard at work on her second novel and has plans to write a series of historical fiction books. • An Austrian woman was found on a remote farm where she spent the last 40 years working as a slave. • Slovakian model Katarina Van Derham has been chosen (with a little help from Maxim readers) as the new St. Pauli Girl. Uh, congrats? •  The U.N. is currently investigating 217 allegations of sexual abuse against its peacekeepers in Eastern Congo. • A single snowmobiler has been blamed for the death of 57 ducks. It appears that after skidding into several mallards on an iced-over river, the snowmobiler turned around and made several more passes at the surviving birds. • A 19-year-old girl was arrested in Wisconsin after running drunkenly through IHOP with her pants around her ankles. • 

Gardasil first hit the market in 2006 and was initially recommended for girls and young women, ages 12-26. Due to aggressive marketing, Gardasil quickly became one of Merck’s top-selling vaccines, with sales of $1.5 billion in 2007 (which were perhaps aided by the high cost- $360 for a three-dose regimen). Despite becoming a requirement for immigrant women, sales slowed in 2008 after a government-funded Harvard study found that it was not cost-effective to administer Gardasil to women in their 20s.

Gardasil for men is not a new idea. Merck has long planned to release a vaccine specifically for males, which seems like a great idea considering that men are more than simply the carriers of HPV. Men infected with HPV run the risk of getting cancer of the genitals or mouth, not to mention genital warts. In Merck’s initial testing, Gardasil prevented 90 percent of cases of penile cancer and genital warts in the 4,000 males, ages 16-26, who received the vaccine.

But before Gardasil for men becomes available to the general public, the FDA must approve Merck’s request, a process that can take up to a year to complete. And while Gardasil is effective at preventing certain types of cancer, the vaccine is not without controversy. In 2008, reports of several deaths that were believed to be linked to the Gardasil vaccine surfaced, leading several news outlets to claim that Gardasil was a factor. While the CDC contends that the deaths are unrelated to Gardasil shots, there is a lingering resentment against the vaccine, which is currently requirement for all immigrant women seeking their green cards. A rival (and less costly) vaccine called Cervarix is available in many foreign markets, but has yet to be approved for use in the U.S.

Drugmaker Merck Seeks Gardasil Approval For Boys [USA Today]
Cervical Cancer Vaccine- For Boys? [CBS News]
Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Gardasil in Boys [WSJ Health Blog]

Related: Experts Appalled At Gardasil Requirement For Immigrant Women, CDC Finds Deaths Unrelated To Gardasil Shots

The worry now, says the Scientific American, is that fewer parents are vaccinating their children because of the earlier study. "The CDC confirmed 131 measles cases in the U.S. between Jan. 1 and Aug. 1 of this year, more than double the number of cases reported annually between 2001 and 2007," Scientific American reports. Larry Pickering, a pediatrician and immunization expert at Emory University and the CDC tells the Washington Post, "Often these [un-vaccinated] children will cluster…If a measles case comes into this cluster, this virus is very easily transmitted. The clustering of people without protection against measles is doubly worrisome."

Study Finds No Autism Link in Vaccine, Digestive Problems, MMR Scrutinized [Washington Post]
New Study: Measles Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism [SciAm]

Earlier: Loose Lips

Manhattan real estate broker Lisa Lippman says she will certainly vaccinate her sons because it is her social responsibility. "If there was a vaccine I could take that would get rid of prostate cancer, why wouldn't I?" Lippman told the Times. "If there was a vaccine that sons could get that would get rid of breast cancer, most parents wouldn't hesitate. But cervical cancer is the 'sex cancer.' " Other mothers are not as enlightened as Ms. Lippman. Massachusetts interior designer Madeline Cattell says she would be hesitant to inoculate her boys because "You don't want to say it's just the girls' problem... But my sons won't contract cervical cancer. And genital warts are treatable. I'm very skeptical. What risks will I expose them to?"

Even though the parents of young boys might not be eager to vaccinate their children, Gardasil might be an easier sell amongst college-age males. According to the Times, Baruch Fischhoff, a professor of decision sciences (???) at Carnegie Mellon, "Being able to say to a girl, casually, that you had the shots, boys might think, 'If I can slip that into the conversation, it makes me less of a risk and seem like more of a humanitarian.' " And it might allow them to slip their penis in a young woman's vagina, if you know what I mean.

Vaccinating Boys For Girls' Sake? [New York Times]

Earlier: Cervical Cancer Vaccine "Burns," But Genital Warts Burn More
Gardasil For Men? New Study Of The Drug Focuses On Gay Men, Ass Cancer

These girls better get used to the sting anyway, since reports from last fall show that Gardasil might not be permanently effective, and some researchers are suggesting a vaccine booster after the ten year mark. As my mom would say: if you think Gardasil stings, try childbirth. There's never really any good comeback to that one.

Ouch! Cervical Cancer Shots Painful [Associated Press]

Earlier: Gardasil For Men? New Study Of The Drug Focuses On Gay Men, Ass Cancer
On Women: What To Do About HPV?
Female Trouble

• Just a few hours after President Bush vetoed another bill in favor of stem-cell research, ABC News is reporting that women undergoing fertility treatments would be willing to donate their unused embryos to research if given the opportunity. [ABCNews]
  
• In the shithole that is Iraq,
  there's been a significant rise of displaced women undergoing illegal abortions. [Salon]
  
• Speaking of the Middle East, the public stoning of an Iranian woman accused of adultery has been delayed, perhaps (and hopefully) indefinitely. [Salon]
  
• Proof that the rest of the Western world is often a lot more reasonable than the U.S.: In the U.K., government experts are recommending that all young girls be vaccinated against HPV... and there's nary a conservative uproar about it! [Guardian]