Personal Injury Law

This Public Interest Group Reviewed Gardasil Cases Found In FDA?s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

According to the Gardasil web site:

GARDASIL is the only cervical cancer vaccine that helps protect against 4 types of human papillomavirus (HPV): 2 types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and 2 more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases.

On June 22, 2009 the public interest group Judicial Watch issued a press release regarding the Gardasil vaccine which had the following attention-getting headline and sub-headline:

New FDA Records Obtained by Judicial Watch Indicate 28 Deaths Related to Gardasil in 2008

• View Discussion Records Document 6,723 Adverse Reactions in 2008, Including 1,061 Considered "Serious" and 142 Considered "Life Threatening"

According to this June 22 press release Judicial Watch is basing their numbers on the group's review of the FDA?s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), during which they found:

...28 deaths in 2008 associated with Gardasil, the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), up from 19 deaths in 2007. The total number of Gardasil-related deaths is 47 since the vaccine was approved in 2006. Overall, the FDA documented 6,723 "adverse events" related to Gardasil in 2008, of which 1,061 were considered "serious," and 142 considered "life threatening."

The June 22, 2009 Judicial Watch press release has links to the VAERS case reports for some Gardasil adverse reactions that are cited as examples.

The press release closes with this "position statement" by Judicial Watch:

"The FDA is supposed to be a guardian of public health, and yet the agency continues to turn a blind eye to what seems to be an extremely serious public health problem. The public relations push for Gardasil by Merck, politicians and public health officials needs to pause so that these adverse reactions can be further studied," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The already serious problems associated with Gardasil seem to be getting worse. No one should require this vaccine for young children."

We would be interested in hearing about any Gardasil adverse reactions you know of, as well as your opinion about whether the Gardasil vaccine should be required for young children.  To participate in this conversation, you only need to submit a Comment, below.