Difference between revisions of "Gardasil"
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As of June 30, 2008, there had been 9,749 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination. Of these, 94% were classified as reports of non-serious events, and 6% as serious events.<ref>"[http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaers/FDA_and_CDC_Statement.htm Information from FDA and CDC on Gardasil and its Safety]", Centers for Disease Control website, accessed 5 April 2009</ref> | As of June 30, 2008, there had been 9,749 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination. Of these, 94% were classified as reports of non-serious events, and 6% as serious events.<ref>"[http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaers/FDA_and_CDC_Statement.htm Information from FDA and CDC on Gardasil and its Safety]", Centers for Disease Control website, accessed 5 April 2009</ref> | ||
| − | + | In 2009 the conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch reported that in 2008, more than 2 dozen women and girls died after receiving the Gardasil vaccination. According to a press release issued by Judicial Watch, there have been a total of 47 deaths linked to Gardasil since it was brought to market in 2006.<ref>Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, [http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/16678 Gardasil Side Effect Reports Included 28 Deaths, Group Says], 25 June 2009, YourLawyer.com, accessed 8 Aug 2009</ref> | |
On June 9, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a revised label for Gardasil as a result of reports of girls fainting and having seizures after receiving the vaccine. In the new label, information about fainting is now also included in the Warnings and Precautions section, and this section has new information noting that individuals who faint sometimes have tonic-clonic (jerking) movements and seizure-like activity.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm165145.htm Information Pertaining to Labeling Revision for Gardasil], FDA website, accessed 8 Aug 2009</ref> | On June 9, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a revised label for Gardasil as a result of reports of girls fainting and having seizures after receiving the vaccine. In the new label, information about fainting is now also included in the Warnings and Precautions section, and this section has new information noting that individuals who faint sometimes have tonic-clonic (jerking) movements and seizure-like activity.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm165145.htm Information Pertaining to Labeling Revision for Gardasil], FDA website, accessed 8 Aug 2009</ref> | ||
Revision as of 09:24, 8 August 2009
Gardasil is a vaccine manufactured by Merck. It is intended to protect against certain kinds of human papilloma virus (HPV). These strains of HPV are associated with cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and genital warts.
Controversy
In February 2009 it was announced that a batch of Merck's Cervical Jab Gardasil had been withdrawn after two 14-year-old girls in Spain were hospitalized. Health authorities withdrew nearly 76,000 doses of the shot after both girls developed convulsions and at least one lost consciousness soon after the vaccine was administered.
The batch had been distributed all over Spain, to some to pharmacies and others to regional vaccination programs. Sanofi Pasteur MSD, the joint venture of Sanofi and Merck that markets Gardasil in Spain, said that a link between the shot and the symptoms has yet to be proved: "In both cases, other medical conditions (in the girls) have been observed and are being investigated which could be the cause of the reported events."[1]
As of June 30, 2008, there had been 9,749 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination. Of these, 94% were classified as reports of non-serious events, and 6% as serious events.[2]
In 2009 the conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch reported that in 2008, more than 2 dozen women and girls died after receiving the Gardasil vaccination. According to a press release issued by Judicial Watch, there have been a total of 47 deaths linked to Gardasil since it was brought to market in 2006.[3]
On June 9, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a revised label for Gardasil as a result of reports of girls fainting and having seizures after receiving the vaccine. In the new label, information about fainting is now also included in the Warnings and Precautions section, and this section has new information noting that individuals who faint sometimes have tonic-clonic (jerking) movements and seizure-like activity.[4]
How the vaccine is made and what's in it
The Gardasil vaccine is manufactured using genetically modified yeast.[5][6] The vaccine also contains an aluminium adjuvant - amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate.[7]
References
- ↑ Staton, T. Hospitalized girls prompt Gardasil recall Accessed on February,12,2009
- ↑ "Information from FDA and CDC on Gardasil and its Safety", Centers for Disease Control website, accessed 5 April 2009
- ↑ Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, Gardasil Side Effect Reports Included 28 Deaths, Group Says, 25 June 2009, YourLawyer.com, accessed 8 Aug 2009
- ↑ Information Pertaining to Labeling Revision for Gardasil, FDA website, accessed 8 Aug 2009
- ↑ Professor Joe Cummins, "Recombinant Cervical Cancer Vaccines", ISIS report 20 December 2005, accessed 5 April 2009
- ↑ "Gardasil", RxList, the Internet Drug Index, accessed 5 April 2009
- ↑ "Gardasil", RxList, the Internet Drug Index, accessed 5 April 2009
