Can Gardasil Cause Death?

Can Gardasil cause death? This is the overriding concern of parents wishing to get their children vaccinated against cervical cancer. Is this vaccine dangerous to the public? In order to clarify this issue, The Center for Disease Control (CDC), The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Merck & Co., have been questioned and have provided the following answers for the public.

To have a clear understanding of the issue at hand, the purpose of this drug must be defined. Gardasil is a vaccination that targets the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18. These are the types of virus that most commonly causes cervical cancer in girls and women ages eleven to 26. A series of three shots are required for immunity optimization against HPV. Merck & Co. continues to stand by their product and state “Nothing is more important to Merck than the safety of our products and we carefully monitor the safety of GARDASIL on a routine basis.”

There are three systems that monitor the safety of all vaccines after they have passed their clinical trials and have been approved for public use. These systems are:

• The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network – A collaborative project of six academic centers in the United States of America conduct independent research on adverse events that could be caused by vaccines.
• The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) - Early warning on adverse and side effects of new vaccines.
• The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) – CDC and eight other health organizations to research on possible adverse caused by vaccines.

Between June 8, 2006 and September 30, 2010, there were 56 deaths reported associated with the vaccine Gardasil. Of the 32 Million doses distributed nationwide, 30 patients suffered fatalities with the direct cause of death being the vaccine Gardasil.  Based on the reports available, the CDC and FDA have determined that Gardasil is safe and effective, and the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Can Gardasil cause death? The answer is - yes it can, but the chances are very low.