At first glance, this story sounds like shades of Jenny McCarthy with a big “vaccine scare” element at the forefront. Here’s what happened: Katie Couric’s mediocre talk show, Katie, aired a Dec. 4 episode that featured guests talking about how the HPV vaccine harmed their daughters. One parent said the vaccine even killed her child even though nothing was ever proven. The scientific community jumped all over Couric for presenting only one side of the issue and not talking at all about the benefits of the vaccine. As Slate points out, there is “no evidence that the HPV vaccine is dangerous.” The benefits of the vaccine are enormous, and it will save countless young women from developing HPV-related cancer in the future.

In response, Couric has tried to backtrack. She has admitted that the episode was too anti-vaccine, but she hasn’t said anything on air. What has Couric done? She penned a HuffPo column to talk about the real odds with the HPV vaccine. This will do no good for her viewers, many of which were convinced by crying guests telling horrific stories. The episode was a typical talk-show tactic, and Katie was probably thinking about ratings when she okayed the slanted coverage. So Couric has admitted she was wrong, but that doesn’t mean she’s been any less irresponsible as a journalist. Here’s a big chunk of her HuffPo column:

There’s no doubt that HPV is a growing problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 79 million people in the United States are infected with at least one of the many types of HPV. The immune system usually fights off the virus before any health problems can occur. But certain types of HPV are the leading cause of cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in women. The virus can also cause anal cancers and in some cases even penile cancer in men. There is increasing concern about mouth and throat cancers resulting from direct contact with HPV-infected partners. The CDC estimates that each year in the United States alone, 26,000 people are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV.

After careful study, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved two vaccines for HPV, Gardasil and Cervarix. These protect against the two types of the virus that cause most, although not all, cases of cervical cancer, as well as other HPV-related cancers. The CDC recommends HPV vaccination for both boys and girls beginning at age 11 or 12.

There’s no question that vaccination is highly effective. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised about reactions to the vaccination. Unfortunately, there’s no question reactions can occur, as with all vaccines. The vast majority of these reactions to the HPV vaccine are not serious, consisting of pain at the injection site, fever, dizziness, and nausea. More severe reactions are sometimes reported, however. Some people say their children have suffered from a variety of medical problems after the vaccination, and there have even been a few reports of death.

As a journalist, I felt that we couldn’t simply ignore these reports. That’s why we had two mothers on the show who reported adverse reactions after their daughters had been vaccinated for HPV. One could hardly get out of bed for three years, and the other tragically died. There is no definitive proof that these two situations were related to the vaccine. Every life is important. However, the time spent telling these stories was disproportionate to the statistical risk attendant to the vaccines and greater perspective is needed.

The concern among many people is whether the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks. Our goal in doing this show was to help parents make an informed decision about the HPV vaccine, not cause irrational fear. Right now, science is telling us that the benefits far outweigh the risks and that adverse reactions are exceptionally rare events.

[From HuffPo

Katie goes on to discuss how she has lost loved ones (including her husband, Jay Monahan, who died of colon cancer) to cancer. She also says has had her two daughters vaccinated against HPV. Katie explains how she was merely trying to encourage parents to make informed decisions about their own children. She now recognizes that the episode was imbalanced, which was probably a ratings ruse more than anything else. Sadly, “scare stories” are very effective at generating a sea of fear. The fear Couric has generated in her viewers may be irreversible.

Katie does deserve kudos for admitting where her show went wrong, but the damage by the episode has already been done. Who even knows if the viewers who watched the episode are HuffPo readers? I doubt Katie will devote another episode to the issue, and even an on-air concession won’t do much to erase the images of crying parents. Gah, what a mess. She knows better.

Photos courtesy of WENN