Gardasil Side Effects, Controversy

By Amanda Woodruff | The News Record

Published: Sunday, February 8, 2009

Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009

The Gardasil vaccine is still in its infancy after its public debut in June 2006. Yet, despite that short amount of time, several points of controversy and a handful of unpleasant side effects have hit the public and people want an explanation, now.

The vaccine, produced in a competition-free market by Merck & Co. Inc., is the only one of its kind thus far. Its purpose is to protect women against diseases caused by four types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and is administered to women between ages nine and 26.

Some of these diseases include cervical or vulvar cancer and genital warts.
The side effects as listed in the patient product information release range from headache, dizziness and fainting to hives or a rash, to chills, stomachaches and seizures. Anaphylaxis, which is a fatal allergic reaction, has also been reported.

This leads to reports of deaths caused by the vaccine. According to the prescribing information, reviewing the clinical trials, there were 24 deaths reported in the 25,274 subjects (only 13, 686 actually received the vaccine; the others received a placebo).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 27 deaths have been reported between June 2006 and August 2008 in the United States. The reports were not directly attributed to the Gardasil vaccine, but all women had received it prior to their deaths. Some of the deaths were linked to blood clots, seizures and heart failure, which are side effects of the vaccine.

The CDC also reported that Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disorder that causes muscle weakness, has resulted from the vaccine.

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration encourage users to report all side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and as of June 30, 2008, the FDA had received 9,749 “adverse events” reports after the injection of Gardasil.

The CDC sent CBS News an e-mail listing important points after CBS broadcast a story about an 18-year old woman who received the vaccine and developed a serious reaction that led to myofasciitis, a painful autoimmune disorder.

“We are surprised by the number and type of reported adverse event cases following Gardasil,” the FDA stated in the memo. “Most adverse events (94 percent) reported to VAERS for Gardasil were not serious.”

Part of the controversy is in choosing to receive the vaccine. Not everyone has a choice or fully understands the vaccine.

Gardasil has now become a requirement for all female immigrants ages 11 to 26. This ruling went into effect in August 2008, and more than 130,000 immigrants will be affected.
The younger female population of the United States receives the vaccine based on parental discretion. Most nine-year-olds have never heard of HPV.

Men are also susceptible to contracting and spreading HPV, but there is no licensed vaccine for them. The FDA is currently considering approval so long as Gardasil is safe and effective for men.

According to research and testing done on all other approved vaccines, the research and time spent on Gardasil is no different.

“I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm, whatsoever,” said Dr. Daron Ferris, a member of the Gardasil research team. “Tens of thousands of patients were studied for as long as five years.”

The other points of controversy lie in necessity and safety. Some parents do not see reason to administer a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease to their children. Another point is the duration of the vaccine. At this time, no one knows how long Garadsil’s protection lasts.

The vaccine is administered in three doses, the final dose occurring six months after the first. Missing a dose or not completing the sequence will not harm the patient, but she will not receive the full benefits of the vaccine.

If you have received the Gardasil vaccine or are considering it, visit www.gardasil.com to learn more and make an educated decision. Also, visit the College Living page of newsrecord.org to comment on your experiences with Gardasil.

Renee

Mon Jul 20 2009 03:41

Hello.... after reading all of these comments, I am happy to say that Gardasil has not brought upon any of those symptoms on me. I am sorry for all the mothers whose had daughters hospitalized, experience severe cases of the symptoms, etc. and all other women for that matter. It got me thinking about my body's reaction after the shot. Only after the second shot, I experienced pain at the injection site... but that only lasted for about 15 minutes after the vaccine was injected in my upper arm. Also, I read on other sites that hair loss is also a cause of Gardasil, and to be honest, my hair possibly got a bit thinner, but I've always had thin hair. I believe my thin hair is a cause of genetics, due to the fact that a lot of women in my family have it, especially my mom. I do believe in all of the symptoms and side effects happening to all the girls who received Gardasil and I think it is because they were allergic to an ingredient in the vaccine that triggered it, naturally. If you ask me, I think Gardasil is safe and is given to prevent the ugly cervial cancer, since of course, our generation of teens and young adults is much more sexually active than previous and hpv is only spreading faster and faster with every relationship and random sexual encounter. My advice to all, make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients of the vaccine before injection.

Also... Gardasil is just a factor like everything else in the world that triggers sickness, infection, or disease... even death. But we are not going to stop talking on our cell phones because it is rumored to cause brain cancer and not going to stop using microwaves because it is thought that the radiation is known to cause cancer. Where am I going with this? I don't think we should down talk this vaccine because it is known to cause these side effects.... after all, it is sort of a cure against CERVICAL CANCER. If you ask me, I would take my chances and take any future vaccines that would prevent other such cancers. We asked for a cure.. and it was discovered. So take advantage of it.

Renee

Mon Jul 20 2009 03:38

Linda H

Sun Jul 19 2009 05:24

My granddaughter had the gardasil shots not to long ago,and I noticed her skin on her uppper chest and shoulder a darkening and quite ugly rash. I'm wondering if anyone elses child has experienced this ugly and very noticable condition...she is only 13 years old.

trish

Tue Jun 30 2009 12:57

My daughter received the first vaccine in Dec/08 and within 2 weeks was diagnosed with ITP. She has been admitted to sick kids hospital twice now because her platelet levels drop to 2. She was never sick before. I don't even remember the last time she even had a cold or the flu. They tell me know it is chronic and she will require treatment for the rest of her life. Now her levels are dropping faster than before. Her hemetologist agrees that it was most likely was caused by the vaccine, given she has never had any other health problems. I would never recommend that parents have their daughters vaccinated for HPV. Merck stopped investigating when I demanded that all correspondence with her doctor be sent to me as well. Interesting!

trish

Tue Jun 30 2009 12:54

Your name

Mon Jun 29 2009 18:24

I am against getting this Vaccine. There are over 40 types of sexually transmitted strains of HPV. Gardasil only covers 4 of these! (2 for cervical cancer, 2 for genital warts) That means it does not cover at least 36 types of sexually transmitted HPV. So, even if you get the vaccine-you are not "safe." Not to mention this vaccine is a baby-we don't know the long term effects! I will take my chances of developing HPV and not willing be vaccinated by this devil. I would rather not risk getting these intense side effects from this vaccine. We don't even know how long the vaccine is good for!

Tiare

Sun Jun 28 2009 19:36

My sister and I have both had the Gardasil vaccine and neither of us have experienced the side effects described in the posts above. I am older (25), and living in New Zealand. I opted to pay for the shots myself after a cousin died recently at the age of 26 from cervical cancer. Losing someone close to me had more impact on my decision than any media report or marketing campaign.
My sister has had 2 shots so far this year as part of the school vaccination campaign they are running here and she, along with all the other girls at her school, who received the vaccine (apparently about 30% of girls chose not to get it), have not encountered any problems beyond a bit of soreness where they got the shot. Actually, neither of us know anyone personally who has experienced a serious side effect. There is one girl in Cambridge who has been in the news, I believe she had an anyphylactic reaction to an ingredient, but no other New Zealand girls I know of has developed a serious illness as a result of the shot.
Judging from the comments on this site, our group has been either extraordinarily lucky to not encounter any of the side effects described or just plain normal (i.e. our experience is basically what you would expect to get). No disrespect intended to people who's daughters have gotten ill, but I can only share from my experience and that is no one I know who has received the vaccine has gotten sick as a result. To be honest I was more fearful after getting the shots because so many people told me I could expect to get dreadfully ill. Basically it left me thinking that scaremongering can work in different ways. I trust I made the right decision for myself now, but I spent months scared that everything I read in the paper or online was going to happen to me because people made it sound like it was bound to happen.

Ian Lindsay (Australia)

Sun Jun 28 2009 05:42

Two years ago, my 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with I.T.P. within two weeks of recieving the Gardasil immunisation.

She had a "ZERO" platelet count, bruising all over her body and patitia (Blood rash ) all over. She missed 3 weeks of school before her platelet count increased to a safe level.

At the time my wife and I told the Doctor she had had the Gardasil immunisation. He said there was no known connection between the two. Seems there is now.

Dean

Sat Jun 27 2009 12:24

My Daughter has been fighting a auto-immune disorder after having 2 of the shots. First we were told she had Lymphoma then ITP now her blood counts go up and down its been 6 months now. She's taken all differant drugs to help. Now for the first time prednisone if working bring her counts back up. Which it didnt help at all 2 months ago.Doctors still cant understand her situation.She's been to every specialist and been tested for everything possible.Dont have your daughter take a chance its been hell on us.

Michelle

Thu Jun 25 2009 15:18

I was told by my daughters pediatrician that we could not be patients there any longer if she refused the vaccine. They gave us 30 days to decide. The Dr. scoffed at me when I told them I'd like to research that and was unprepared for the question that day. My daughter is 12 years old, constantly supervised by family and leads a sheltered life. We are NOT poor, inner city, uneducated, etc. So, we found another pediatrician.

Why am I worried? We have history of autoimmune disorders in our immediate family. I'm praying that my kids won't inherit that, but they may have already. So, I need to keep them as healthy as possible and away from dangerous foreign chemicals to the body. I think thats pretty elementary thinking.

As a nurse I am sorry to admit that my autoimmune disorders began just after I had my required immunizations for work. Finally, after a year I cut back to part time and now I do not work due to multiple autoimmune disorders. Any Dr. who discourages a parent from researching something before their child receives it into their body should have their license revoked. I called another well known ped office and got appts there and they acted bewildered when I asked if Gardasil was required. Like it was a dumb question. They repeated twice, its an OPTIONAL vaccine. Until we have better knowledge of this vaccine we will not consider having it. I know the dangers of cervical cancer and I will teach my daughter about those. Right now we are 12 going on 13 and I prefer not to jump years ahead and put something into her body that may bring her terrible side effects when she is no where near age of even dating!!!!!!!

Angela

Wed Jun 24 2009 12:04

I'm doing a research paper on the controversy of Gardasil for my undergrad independent study and since begining my research I have read many stories similar to this one. I would never reccomend the vaccine to anyone and I hope NO ONE SHOULD!!!

kiana

Sat Jun 20 2009 16:22

well after having the first shot and reading up on Gardisil, hearing about all these other unlisted side effects im not too sure about the second and third dose. i didnt have any side effects with the first one aside from the common soreness at the injection site but i dont know if that puts me in the clear for the other two idk what to do?? any suggestions?

karen

Thu Jun 18 2009 18:11

It is june 2009, My daughter is still sick from gardasil... Don't do it unless you enjoy going to a different specialist every week. Being talked down to by the powers that be(Doctors). They refuse to admit this vaccine would cause any damage. My formerly 3.86 GPA daughter failed all her classes. continues to have migraines with temporary paralysis and fainting. I am sorry that I listened to the one less comercials. Now my daughter is one less healthy child.

sally

Mon Jun 8 2009 19:31

we all know that our physicians work with the drug manufacturing companies because they are paid to write out prescriptions on any new drug on the market whether the drug is good or bad. therefor the physicians wont dare say that any drug is bad for anyone. physicians are product sellers. drug dealers. legal drug dealers. they do not care about our children. they just need money to support their clinics or their own practice. my daughter is one less.......
she is a victim of this health care nonsense our government has no control of. if the doctors dont report to veres or the cdc then how do we get any info? by the time any doctor knows what she has she wont have any health insurance to treat it. good luck trying to find the answers.

Lori

Thu Jun 4 2009 16:06

My daughter suffered from high fever for 5 days, that didn't start until 4 days after the 1st shot. She is still running low grade temp., frequent bad headaches and leg/arm pain and occasional weakness. It's been 9 days now. Does this get better with time??? I don't want the 2nd or 3rd dose anymore. Is there risk to not having the rest of the shots?
My Dr. did not inform me of risks/side effects of this shot. When I took her into the Dr. for the high fevers, she said it wasn't from the shots but all tests came back negative. I'm very worried and sick about this!!

Michael Spjuth

Thu Jun 4 2009 12:48

My business partners daughter got her first injection 2 months ago on my recommendation. It's now time for the second one. Is it OK to discontinue the program or would that in itself be risky?

I stumbled onto all this Gardasil info by accident, the dr at the hospital also suggested it as a good idea to have the shots but now I'm not so sure.

I would be very very happy if anyone has some information in regards to the risks involved in not taking shot number 2 and 3.

karen

Sat May 9 2009 15:02

Oh yea by the way check out vaers and hpv4 you will see that most of the reactions are marked as not serious however I question that. Daily migraines. not serious Muscle weakness...not serious, Seriously all these reports when I look at them are horrible. But Vaers is reporting them as not being serious. Who do you think pays for Vaers...Big Pharma...with their grants. There is a big conflict of interest with Big Pharma, and our government. Just do a little research. It's enough to make you not proud to be an american.

karen

Sat May 9 2009 14:56

Well For one I question the alluminum that was in the gardasil....Thats just what Merck admits what is in it. Don't trust Merck they are killing kids world wide. In the USA companys are allowed to put genetically altered products in our food suppy and Medicine. I wonder if the GMO's are also in foreign vaccines since many of these countries banned them, Why does the US allow big pharma to poison our vaccines and food supplies? I am wondering outloud if the vaccine has the same ingredients in all the countries. I doubt it. But our government allows it's people to be poisoned. The Fat Cats in Washington are receiving big money from the Fat Pharmas. We are in a recession but millions of dollars are being spent to support special interests.

Sun May 3 2009 22:58

I recommend the vaccine to those who have done their research and have talked to their doctors. Make sure Gardasil is RIGHT for you or your daughter. IF you know you don't have problems that could risk your health, then go for it! The shot prevents women from one of the most DEADLIEST cancers. If we have the opportunity to keep ourselves safe from this hazardous epidemic, then why wouldn't you take advantage of this helpful vaccine. Science is changing everyday and things will improve. You must have hope and understand. Do the research. Knowledge is power

karen

Sun Apr 26 2009 07:28

My daughter is not recovered from gardahell. Thanks Merck, FDA,CDC , the biased media and to all the wonderful doctors that praised it's glory before it was even approved. I know first hand now what an adverse reaction is. The doctor who administered the vaccine said she would report it to vaers. I just found out it was never reported. Bottom line is the allmighty dollar. Merck gives grants to everyone and is out in full force just to kill and maime our citizens and make them infertile. Merck is a foreign company. They are doing business in the US and have recevied many fines. check igt out yourself. My daughter is in tremendous pain daily. No menstrual since first vaccine. Migraine headaches, syncope, loss of use of legs(temporaily). Loss of use of vaccinated arm. bloody stools, heart palpations, chest pains, joint pains, dizziness, clamminess the list goes on and on. She is miserable and so am I.