CDC logs adverse event reports regarding Gardasil

ATLANTA According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been over 7,800 “adverse event” related to Merck’s cervical cancer prevention vaccination Gardasil, since it was approved two years ago, as reported by CNN. Gardasil prevents the spread of human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer in a relatively small number of girls and women.

Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis, even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed, but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine. The CDC says it continues to study the reports of illness.

Merck says it has distributed more than 26 million Gardasil vaccines worldwide, including nearly 16 million in the United States. It estimates that 8 million girls and women have received the vaccine in the United States since June 2006.

The company said in a statement that an adverse event report “does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established—just that the event occurred after vaccination.”

Merck said it would continue to evaluate reports of adverse reactions. It said it “updates product labels with new safety information as appropriate.”