Risks and Side Effects

report links cervical cancer vaccine to deaths, incidents of fainting, blood clots

A report conducted by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control () and released in August 2009 raised concerns about the safety of cervical cancer vaccine . According to the report, more than 25 million doses of have been distributed in the United States, and is recommended for girls and women ages 9-26 by manufacturer , Inc.

According to the study, which took into account incidents of adverse events reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since the drug’s introduction in 2006, there was an average of 53.9 VAERS reports per 100,000 vaccine doses. Of these, 40 percent occurred on the day of vaccination, and 6.2 percent were serious, including 32 reports of death.

In February 2009, the National Vaccine Information Center, a private vaccine-safety group, conducted a comparative study of adverse events reported following a Menactra (meningococcal) vaccine versus the vaccine.  Both vaccines are recommended for youngsters in the same age group, at 11-12 years old (Menactra for boys and girls, for girls only). The study compares VAERS data reported for each vaccine.

The study found that is associated with at least twice as many Emergency Room visit reports, four times more death reports, five times more “did not recover” reports, and seven times more “disabled” reports, as compared to Menactra.

Other findings of this study show that compared to Menactra:

  • is associated with all reports of blood clots
  • is associated with at lest four times as many cardiac arrest reports
  • is associated with at least six times as many fainting reports
  • is associated with at least four times as many Lupus reports
  • is associated with at least 15 times as many stroke reports

In general, the report concludes, “although is given in a three-shot series and only one dose of Menactra is given, Menactra is given to both boys and girls while is given only to girls. It is unusual for there to be such a big discrepancy between two vaccines used in similar populations involving serious and relatively rare life threatening adverse events and autoimmune disorders such as death, blood clots, cardiac arrest, lupus, thrombosis, stroke and vasculitis.”

Read the full NVICG Report.