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"  Back in September, Minnesota Representative and Republican presidential wannabe Michele Bachmann got slammed for suggesting that the HPV vaccine, which protects against the types of genital human papillomavirus that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts, is unsafe and could cause serious health problems, including mental retardation. She later gave a quasi-apology, admitting that she&amp;#039;s not a scientist or a doctor. But apparently she needs to be reminded that she&amp;#039;s not a scientist or a doctor because earlier this week, Bachmann insinuated that the vaccine &amp;quot;ravages&amp;quot; the body. She was at a campaign event in Iowa when a woman stood up to thank Bachmann for bringing attention to the vaccine. The woman added that she thinks her daughter, Jessica, is sick because of the round of shots. Bachmann responded by saying, &amp;quot;Parents have to make that decision for their kids because it isn&amp;#039;t the schools that are going to follow up with Jessica. It isn&amp;#039;t the schools that live with Jessica every day. It&amp;#039;s Jessica who&amp;#039;s having to have her body live with the ravages of this vaccine.&amp;quot; As we reported after Bachmann&amp;#039;s first round of ignorant vaccine-bashing, experts worry that whenever a public figure says something negative about a vaccine\u2014even if it&amp;#039;s totally unfounded\u2014it makes vaccination rates drop. And it can even lead to the outbreak of a disease. Numerous studies have found that the HPV vaccine is safe, and medical experts maintain that it&amp;#039;s not dangerous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend all 11 and 12-year old girls and women 13 through 26 get the round of shots. And as of last month, the CDC also recommends boys get it as well. HPV is the number one STD in this country and getting the vaccine lowers the transmission rate of not just cervical cancer, but also vaginal, vulvar, and anal cancers (and penile and rectal cancer among men). Yes, it&amp;#039;s true that there are sometimes side effects, but the chances are slim compared with the chances of getting HPV and developing cervical cancer. And studies and experts agree that the pros way outweigh the (very rare) cons. Learn More: Get Educated on HPV and What it Means for You What do you think of Bachmann&amp;#039;s statements? Do you think what she said could scare people away from getting the HPV vaccine? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a9866/michele-bachmann-hpv-cervical-cancer-vaccine-dangers-111611/>