Flesh and Stone
By Kathlyn Stone
July 26, 2009
Records obtained by Judicial Watch under the Freedom of Information Act show 47 deaths and thousands of serious adverse events associated with Gardasil.
Last year, clinic staff and family members told the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the Gardasil vaccine was responsible for 28 deaths of girls and young women.
The deaths included several girls ages 11 and 12 who had no existing medical conditions prior to receiving the vaccine. In some cases, the girls died within three days of receiving one shot of the vaccine. Others died following their third Gardasil injection. Several died in their sleep.
Gardasil is a vaccine marketed by the pharmaceutical company Merck and recommended by U.S. public health authorities for the prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV) in girls and young women. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.
Gardasil has been implicated in 47 deaths since gaining FDA approval in 2006, according to data voluntarily submitted to the FDA by physicians, hospital staff and family members.
FDA records also show 6,723 “adverse events” were reported following Gardasil vaccinations in 2008, ranging from genital and facial warts and permanent disability to cervical cancer and Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Of the total 47 reported deaths, 41 occurred within a month of receiving the vaccine.
The FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) records, a voluntary reporting system, were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group.
The following are several “adverse events” documented in the FDA records:
