It’s worth noting #Merck manufactured insufficient quantities of overpriced HPV vaccine for years.

Folks from low-income countries have lacked access.

Cervical #cancer is preventable but not prevented — due in part to corporate-driven inequities. 4/12 https://www.cervicalcancerdeclaration.org/

Colleague Cameron B. Haas explains: #Merck constrained its statistical models so 1 HPV dose could never outperform 2 doses.

But there’s no justification for this assumption: more jabs give more antibodies, but this doesn’t necessarily translate to better protection. 3/12

1⃣GARDASIL is a great vaccine. So great, in fact, that a single dose offers solid protection against HPV cancers.

Yet in spite of the #WHO’s recommendation and substantial evidence for the efficacy of 1 dose, Merck promoted 2 doses at this year’s #IPVC. 2/12

Corporations, driven by profits, often overlook ethical considerations.

#Merck exemplifies this issue.

Here are three ways it’s putting profits over people right now. 🧵 1/12

I suppose in a way it’s a response to many things — this week’s anonymous quotes, or the raccoon dog report a few months ago. Every bit of information helps, but all the confidence being thrown around on both sides is, in my view, unwarranted.

My stance on the origin of #COVID19 remains uncertain and agnostic.

The same issues plague media hype on both sides: it’s difficult to evaluate whether the claims or data themselves are accurate or representative.