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headaches, nausea, and fever (an indicator of anaphylactic reactions when in the absence of infection) up to 15 days after the vaccination was received. Now that vaccinations have been given to a larger population there are more prevalent adverse reactions including deaths.

According to LifeSiteNews in October 2007, the US Government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) lists 3,779 adverse effects with 52 of the cases deemed "life threatening" and 119 requiring hospitalization. A review of some of the files pertaining to the deaths, obtained by Judicial Watch from the FDA via the Freedom of Information Act, points to a trend of young girls with heart conditions or unrecognized flu infections having cardiovascular or systemic autoimmune reactions to the vaccine. The FDA is lacking much of the important information surrounding the deaths and has been sued by Judicial Watch for not being forthcoming with the information. The adverse side effects reported by many media outlets in the United States as well as the UK include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures in otherwise healthy girls.

The Cost of Gardasil

The series of three shots costs, on average, $360 per girl and would be a huge profit for Merck since Gardasil is the only vaccine available for cervical cancer or HPV infection. In November 2007, Merck announced to stockholders that they are seeking FDA approval to vaccinate women up to age 45, despite clinical studies cutting off the ages of interest at 26. As stated by the BloggingStocks website, "[E]xpanding the market to older women could take the focus off that issue [of young girls receiving the vaccine] as well as increase Merck's market at the same time."

Merck had also funded a legislative push to make the vaccine mandatory for school aged girls, spending a reported $250,000 in Texas, the first state to mandate vaccination. Merck backed off the legislative push in other states when reports of deaths began to surface and parent groups spoke up against mandated vaccination. The American College of Pediatricians has called for long term studies of efficacy and side effects before making the step forward.

Additional References:

Kjaer, S.K. et al., 2002. Type specific persistence of high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) as indicator of high grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions in young women: population based prospective follow up study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 325(7364), p.572.

Cuschieri, K.S. et al., 2005. Persistent high risk HPV infection associated with development of cervical neoplasia in a prospective population study. Journal of clinical pathology, 58(9), p.946-50.

Learn more about this author, Alicia M Prater PhD.
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