South Carolina Gardasil Lawyers

The much hyped HPV vaccine, Gardasil, may have more side effects than initially reported.

Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June of 2006. It is made by Merck Inc. and has been aggressively marketed to families of young females. Gardasil’s clinical trials reportedly concluded that the vaccine is 90-100 percent effective in preventing the transmission of some strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which is known to cause cervical cancer.

Despite these trials, more recent investigations are revealing that the FDA rushed to approve and market Gardasil without studying all of the potential side effects of the drug.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommend that the vaccine be administered to girls  between the ages of 11 and 12. Twenty states are now pushing for a federal mandate which may require that the Gardasil vaccine be administered to all sixth-grade girls.

Merck applauded the CDC’s recommendation and has begun an intensive lobbying effort to convince state health authorities to formally mandate that young girls receive the Gardasil vaccination. An approval of the mandate will mean more money for Merck who made an estimated $1.4 billion from Gardasil the first year it was on the market.  But administration of the vaccine may carry undisclosed risks as recent investigations  have linked the Gardasil vaccination to bloodclots, miscarriages, and even death.

The only side effect Merck has associated with Gardasil is pain at the injection site.  Despite this claim, a 2007 Judical Watch analysis of the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) claimed that pain at the injection was not the only side effect that could be linked to the vaccine.

Since Gardasil was approved by the FDA in 2006 there have been reports of at least 3,461 complaints of adverse reactions. As of January 31, 2010 there have been 49 reported U.S. deaths among Gardasil vaccination recipients, as reported by the “Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System”. Several instances of blood clots were also reported, according to Judicial Watch.

Other side effects of the Gardasil vaccination are

• Paralysis,
• Bells Palsy,
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome,
• Fainting,
• Miscarriages,
• Seizures, and
• Death.

It is now believed that adverse events as the result of Gardasil could be an underestimation of the true number of serious side effects that may occur after taking the vaccine.

Miscarriages are also being investigated as to their link with Gardasil. The Gardasil side effect reports states 28 women miscarried after receiving the Gardasil vaccination. One the miscarriages involved a 24-year-old woman who received the vaccination within 30 days of pregnancy, according to a report issued by the federal government.

The most disturbing side effect now being linked to the Gardasil vaccination is death. Three young women died in the US shortly after receiving the vaccination and two European females also died after the vaccination was administered.

Despite links to miscarriage, death, and other potential side effects, Merck still markets its product as side-effect free. We are actively investigating whether Merck is misleading the public about the potential dangers surrounding the Gardasil vaccination.

If you or someone you know has received the Gardasil vaccination and experienced severe side effects, contact the Strom Law Firm at 803-252-4800 to speak with one of our defective drug lawyers.