Concerns Grow as Gardasil, the Cervical Cancer Vaccine, is Linked to Three Deaths

In June 2006, Merck and Co. released a new vaccine called Gardasil. This vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for females age 9 to 26 and was designed to protect against the more common strains of HPV, or human papilloma virus that cause cervical cancer. Gardasil was big news because it was the first vaccine designed to prevent cancer. Gardasil also made it into the news due to the nature of the vaccination: the first vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease.

Parents of girls in many states lobbied against a mandate for this vaccine because of the implication of sexual promiscuity. Right now, the vaccine is recommended but not required.

This vaccine was fast-tracked the FDA process, and this fast-tracking raised red flags for watch groups around the country. Concerns about the under-reported adverse reactions prompted outcries in many states.

Last week a public group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, Judicial Watch, released documents that revealed three deaths attributed to the vaccine Gardasil, made and marketed by Merck and Co. The information was obtained by the Freedom of Information Act and in addition to the over 1600 adverse reactions to the vaccine, the report of three deaths was included.

Merck and Co., of course did include warnings about adverse reactions like pain, fever, itching, dizziness or nausea after taking the vaccine. These are pretty common reactions to any vaccination that involve injecting the human body with a foreign substance designed to create antibodies. But later, and more serious side effects were reported. These side effects, detailed in this article: Questions about Gardasil included Bells Palsy, paralysis, seizures and Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Spontaneous abortions and fetal abnormalities have also been reported after the use of this vaccine in young pregnant women. The vaccine wasn't recommended for pregnant patients, but because the vaccine didn't contain a live virus, physicians were not warned to use extra caution in screening for possible pregnancies before vaccination, either.

But even more serious effects are being reported now. In April, a female patient of undisclosed age, died after receiving the Merck and Co. HPV vaccine, Gardasil. According to the report made by a physician's assistant, this young woman died of thrombosis (a blood clot) 3 hours after being injected by this vaccine.

In March, a 19 year old female patient also died two weeks after receiving the vaccine Gardasil. In this instance, the cause of death also lists thrombosis or blood clot; but the cause of death was sudden cardiac death. The autopsy also noted the presence of numerous small and large blood clots.

And also in March, a young 12 year old girl died of heart failure 6 days after being injected with the vaccine, Gardasil.

The New England Journal of Medicine published an analysis in March that called into question the efficacy of the new vaccine by Merck and Co. Their findings indicated a much lower benefit than expected, and an accompanying editorial called the benefit "modest."

The American Cancer Society says that the survival rate for cervical cancer is about 90 percent. Most instances of HPV infections, even the pre-cancerous or cancerous ones, resolve on their own.

These findings are leading parents, health care practitioners and watch dog groups all over the country to tell Merck and Co. it's time to go back to the drawing board and stop pushing the HPV vaccine Gardasil on young women.