8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccine
Pastor Dale Morgan
8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccine*
Adverse reactions from Gardasil number in thousands
Posted: October 6, 2007
Another eight deaths in just the past few months are being connected to
Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted
human papillomavirus and is being considered by many states as mandatory
for all schoolgirls, according to documents released by Judicial Watch.
There also have been another 1,824 adverse reactions to the drug,
bringing the "known total" of such problems to 3,461, according to the
public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government
corruption.
"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local
governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said
Tom Fitton, the group's president. "These adverse reactions reports
suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even
be fatal."
Merck was lobbying state lawmakers to require the vaccination, but gave
that up after its activities were unveiled.
A key researcher into human papillomavirus, which is targeted by
Gardasil, reported it needed more testing, and how even the Centers for
Disease Control suggested the vaccine should not be mandatory.
The dispute primarily has been over proposed state and other
governmental requirements that schoolgirls be vaccinated against an
infection transmitted only by sexual contact.
The target of the vaccine is cervical cancer, since studies show that
those who have HPV have a higher chance of later developing cervical
cancer. However, opponents note that such cancers develop most often in
older women, while the plan is to require girls as young as 11 or 12
years old to be inoculated. They cite the lack of evidence that the
vaccine would have an impact later in life.
Judicial Watch said it obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration under the Freedom of Information Act detailing the new
1,824 cases.
Those cases include as many as eight deaths related to the vaccine, on
top of the three deaths reported earlier among 1,637 earlier reports of
adverse effects.
Among the new information Judicial Watch found:
* "Information has been received … concerning a 17 year old female who
in June 2007 … was vaccinated with a first dose of Gardasil … During the
evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by
the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but
was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."
* "Information has been received … concerning a 12 year old female with
a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiency … who on 01-MAR-2007
was vaccinated IM into the left arm with a first does of Gardasil … On
01-MAR-2007 the patient presented to the ED with ventricular tachycardia
and died."
* "Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician
concerning an 'otherwise healthy' 13 year old female who was vaccinated
with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient
experienced … paralysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic
nerve…At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."
The flood of adverse reactions during 2007 reported to the FDA through
the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, included 347 serious reactions.
"Of the 77 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 33 experienced
side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities.
Other serious side effects continue to be reported including, paralysis,
Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures," Judicial Watch said.
And these numbers may not even include all the cases, Judicial Watch
said. It filed a lawsuit this week against the FDA for failing to fully
respond to its requests for information involving the vaccine.
Specifically Judicial Watch wanted access to correspondence between
Merck and the FDA regarding the vaccine, communications between the FDA
and GlaxoSmithKline, which is working on a similar vaccine, called
Cervarix, and reports by consumers, health professionals and others
regarding problems with the HPV vaccine.
When the organization's investigation into the HPV vaccine issue arose,
and the first reports starting coming in, Fitton described it as "a
catalog of horrors."
One earlier report, No. 275438-1, describes the reaction as coronary
artery thrombosis, sudden cardiac death. "Given Gardasil vaccine dose #1
3/12/07. Collapsed and died on 3/26/07… Echocardiogram revealed very
enlarged right ventricle, small left ventricle as well as large blood
clots within both the right atrium & right ventricle."
Another report noted that the woman was vaccinated and "died of a blood
clot 8 hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine."
Officials with the Abstinence Clearinghouse noted in a position paper
that groups including the Texas Medical Association, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of American Physicians and
Surgeons, and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine have come
out publicly against mandatory vaccination.
"The reasoning of these medical associations is clear. They are not
opposed to medical progress, and certainly support all efforts to combat
life-threatening diseases. The problem, as these organizations see it,
lies in the fact that the drug only went through three and a half years
of testing, leaving the medical community somewhat in the dark as to
what serious adverse effects might result in the long term," the group said.
"Along with the potential of serious adverse effects is the question of
efficacy. There is evidence that after approximately four years, the
vaccine's potency significantly declines. The long-term value of the
vaccine has yet to be determined; if it wears off within six years, will
girls and women need to repeat the battery of injections they originally
received?" the organization wondered.
Michigan was the first state to introduce a plan to require the vaccine
to be given to young girls, but the proposal failed. Ohio also
considered a failed plan in 2006.
Then in 2007, after Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign and
contributions to Women in Government, lawmakers in at least 39 states
and the District of Columbia worked on sponsoring such plans.