Take three shots and sue us in the morning.

That’s essentially what Uncle Sam is telling a Florida Panhandle teen who doesn’t want  to take Gardasil. The vaccine supposedly prevents the two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers. Simone Davis, 17, of Port St. Joe said she doesn’t need Gardasil because she has no plans to become sexually active. The U.S. government has said, Get the shots or go back to England.

Female immigrants between 11 and 26 must get Gardasil vaccinations to become citizens. Simone, who is seeking citizenship, moved to Florida from England when she was 3, adopted by her grandmother, who had married an American. Their request for a waiver on moral and religious grounds was denied.

“I kind of feel like they may be experimenting with immigrants to see how we will react, and then give the vaccine to citizens,” Simone said. “If it is such a great vaccine, why isn’t it mandatory for everyone?”

A better question: Why is it mandatory for anyone?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Gardasil is safe for females between 11 and 26. There’s no proof, however, that the vaccine protects against HPV longer than five years. So we’re keeping 11-year-olds safe from a sexually transmitted virus until they’re 16. How about we just try and keep them virgins instead?

Even a lead researcher for Gardasil’s manufacturer, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., now has doubts. “The benefit to public health is nothing,” said Dr. Diane Harper, who helped design and carry out studies to get Gardasil approved. “There is no reduction in cervical cancers; they are just postponed, unless the protection lasts for at least 15 years, and over 70 percent of all sexually active females of all ages are vaccinated.”

Then there are the side effects. As of Sept. 1, the CDC had received 15,037 reports of “adverse events” from the more than 26 million doses of Gardasil  distributed. Forty-four of those “events” were deaths. Other serious reactions include paralysis, blood clots and cases of a rare disorder that causes muscle weakness. 

There’s no proof that Gardasil caused these “adverse events.” There’s also no proof that the drug did not.

Officials in the United Kingdom are resuming mandatory shots of Cervarix, a similar vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, after an autopsy showed that a 14-year-old girl who died hours after being vaccinated had a malignant tumor in her chest. GlaxoSmithKiline is trying to get Food and Drug Administration approval for Cervarix here.

The agency put off its decision after news about the British teen’s death. The FDA should have put off approving Gardasil. There have been no long-term studies about the drug’s effects. Instead, the FDA fast-tracked approval, and the government added it to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. So claims by victims of side-effects are paid out of taxpayers’ pockets, and Merck is off the hook.

My pediatrician looked at me sideways when I refused two years ago to let her give Gardasil to my daughter. Merck’s multi-million dollar, award-winning marketing campaign didn’t impress me the way it did our government or the Florida legislators who tried and failed in 2007 to make Gardasil vaccinations a requirement for 11- and 12-year-old girls attending public and private school. Then again, maybe our legislators were impressed with the money Merck and its employees has given to state campaigns across the country — nearly $5 million from 2000 to 2006, the year the FDA approved Gardasil. Florida candidates and political parties, says the Institute on Money in State Politics, got $256,000.

With the drug priced at $360 for a three-dose regimen, Merck stands to make billions off government forcing Gardasil on our children. All of us, even immigrants, should have the right to say, Thanks, but no thanks.

Rhonda Swan is an editorial writer for The Palm Beach Post. Her e-mail address is rhonda_swan@pbpost.com