September/October 2009

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By C. Gwendolyn Landolt

National Vice President

REAL Women of Canada

There is limited data on the effects of this anti Human Papillimous Virus (HPV) drug on pre-teen and early teenage girls, yet this age group is the primary target for the vaccine.  Gardasil was tested on about 1,200 girls ages nine to 15.  Clinical trials of the HPV vaccine involved pre-screened participants without any medical conditions.  Mass immunization programs in the schools will result in almost every girl being vaccinated, including those with undiagnosed medical conditions.

The long term neurological or immune system effects of the vaccine are completely unknown.  It is uncertain if any of those vaccinated will develop fertility, cancer or genetic damage.  Merck, the drug company that produces Gardasil, admits the above possibilities have not been studied.

Merck reports that side effects of the vaccine include pain, swelling, itching, and redness at the injection site, fever, nausea, dizziness, and headache.  Merck’s vaccine brochure also states “This is not a complete list of side effects”.

Serious side effects from Gardasil include blood clot, paralysis, seizures, stroke, cardiac arrest, lupus, thrombosis, vasculitis, Guillian-Barre Syndrome (a rare disorder) and death.  Merck claims there is no proof that Gardasil is responsible for these illnesses or deaths.

According to records from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, since the vaccine was approved in 2006, the total number of Gardasil-related deaths is 47.  Of the 47 deaths, 41 occurred within a month of receiving the vaccine and, of those deaths, 17 were within two weeks of receiving the vaccine.  The cause of death is unknown in most of the cases.

In 2008, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) documented 7,723 adverse events related to Gardasil, of which 1,061 were considered ‘serious’ and 142 considered ‘life threatening’.  Since June 2008, the VAERS reports show 235 cases of permanent disability.  There were 29 new cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome and 147 cases of spontaneous miscarriages when the vaccine was given to pregnant women.

The federal and provincial public health agencies in Canada have approved the HPV vaccine for girls and young women, aged 9 to 26.  These agencies claim the vaccine is safe, with few side effects, but they do not report the safety concerns and risks associated with the vaccine.  REAL Women believes that parents need to know all the facts about Gardasil when considering the vaccine for their daughter. 

A brochure outlining these concerns and risks is available from the Canadian Institute for Education on the Family (CIEF).  If you would like a copy or if you would be willing to distribute this brochure to parents of young girls, please let them know.  Call 306-253-4789 or email information@cief.ca.    The brochure is on line at www.cief.ca. 

Reality News Publication

REAL Women of Canada

September October 2009

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