Remember that trio of vaccines Merck introduced in late 2005 that was supposed to turn their fortunes around after the Vioxx debacle? I suspect Merck never anticipated all the new troubles they'd be attracting now...

For one, Gardasil, the useless human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, is creating all kinds of conflicts between state legislatures who want to require young girls and parents who believe such laws circumvent their rights.

And, almost a year after approving Rotateq to prevent gastrointestinal illnesses in children, the FDA issued an advisory earlier this week warning parents about the growing incidents of intussusception, a rare and life-threatening form of intestinal blockage.

Intussusception was also the most common side effect associated with Wyeth's long-gone RotaShield that was pulled from the market in 1999. Although no deaths have been reported so far, 16 of the 28 reported cases required surgery to repair a baby's intestinal tract.

Hard to believe, then, the co-inventor of the vaccine had the nerve to say the 28 reported cases of intussusception were a reassuring number...

If news reports like these make you think twice about vaccinating your children, they should. If you're on the fence at all, I strongly encourage you to carefully consider all the evidence before moving forward.