Dear Editor,

The Ministry of Health announced their intention of giving vaccinations for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) to all Standard IV girls in late October, early November.

When concern was raised about the merit and safety of such a program, Dr. Manzanero, in an interview on November 10th, said the negative feedback was due to “serious misconceptions”. He said that not everything one reads on the internet is necessarily true and it is necessary to document sources.

We agree that a lot of things on the internet are untrue. We don’t rely on the internet stories; we investigate the sources which include noted doctors and scientists as well as people adversely affected by the vaccine.

Dr. Manzanero condemned those raising questions about the vaccine’s safety and advises that the source of information should be documented, yet he fails to offer any documentation. He said, “We asked around, as we are one of the last countries to embark on this.” Asked around? What is that?

He also gave the impression they would temporarily halt the program so they could educate people. We have not heard about anyone being given information, and yet they are administering the vaccine.

We would like to have a forum for the public between the Ministry of Health, Dr. Manzanero, and us to talk about what we have learned and what they have learned.

We are not medical doctors, but have done a lot of research in this area and have a lot of information we would be glad to share and have shared. A lot of information can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Belize-Institute-of-Environmental-Law-and-Policy.

We believe that parents and guardians should be informed about what is put in the bodies of their children and not be ridiculed or belittled or threatened for asking questions.

George & Dr. Candy Gonzalez,

Concerned Parents and Grandparents