On May 22, 2007, five female students at Sacred Heart Girls College in suburban Melbourne, Australia, were taken to hospital after receiving an injection of Gardasil, the newest mandatory vaccine for cervical cancer. Shortly after vaccination, twenty-six girls were seen at the campus medical clinic. Five were admitted to hospital: two stayed overnight due to dizziness; one had temporary paralysis and loss of speech. The status of the remaining two is unknown. (one)

In the US, symptoms similar to those experienced by Australian girls were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Since the approval of the vaccine in June 2006, at least 1,600 adverse events have been reported. Here are some examples directly from the VAERS reporting pages:

“Immediately after the injection, the patient complained of severe pain at the site. He fell off the table and vanished for about 10-15 seconds. hyperventilating. He complained of headache, blurred vision; eye exam was normal. Vomiting x 1 in the parking lot and speech was momentarily inarticulate. She sent to the emergency room where the neurological exam of her was normal except for remembering the word “coffee instead of cough” and she said “Begotten instead of tired”.

“A female patient was vaccinated with a first dose of the HPV vaccine. Later, when the patient was leaving the examination room, the patient was falsified. The patient recovered shortly after passing out.”

“A 14-year-old female was vaccinated with Gardasil. The patient was reported to be sitting on a bench. When the nurse left the room, the patient apparently missed and ended up falling off the bench. It was reported that he was not sure if the patient had a broken nose, but there was blood. At the time of this report, the outcome of the events was unknown.”

VAERS is a passive surveillance system and relies on voluntary reporting by doctors and parents of serious health problems after vaccination. Although the VAERS reports do not prove causation, they can provide a warning system that a vaccine may be causing health problems.

It has been estimated that less than 10 percent, even as low as 1 to 4 percent, of adverse events from a prescription drug or vaccine are ever reported. (2) If only 1 percent of all Gardasil-associated adverse events are reported for VAERS, there could have been as many as 160,000 acute health problems from the vaccine in less than a year. Long-term neurological or immune system complications are completely unknown. It is unclear whether any of these vaccinated children will develop fertility problems, cancer or damage to their genes, all of which Merck admits in its package insert has not been studied.

John Iskander, of the Center for Disease Control’s office of immunization safety, said: “There is absolutely no reason to think that there is anything in this vaccine that will make people more likely to fail.” (3) Despite its assurances, there are ingredients in the vaccine that can make recipients dizzy and pass out.

histidine, an amino acid, is easily converted to another amino acid, histamine, when it enters the body. When released, histamine causes redness, swelling, itching, and allergic reactions leading to widening of capillaries, drop in blood pressure…people can fail. The vaccine also contains Polysorbate 80, an agent used in creams, ointments, lotions, and multiple medical preparations, including vitamin oils and anticancer agents. Polysorbate 80 can cause life-threatening reactions, including anaphylaxis, which is characterized by a sudden drop in blood pressure, hives, and difficulty breathing…people can fail. (4)

Fainting after vaccination can have serious consequences. An article published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (1997) reviewed the 697 reports of syncope (fainting) that occurred after vaccination and were reported to VAERS between 1990 and 1995. More than 97 percent of the events occurred within 30 minutes of vaccination, which which established a causal relationship. Of these, six patients suffered severe head trauma, including skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, and brain contusion. Three of these patients required brain surgery and two were left with substantial residual neurological deficits between six months and two years after follow-up. (5) Dizziness and fainting after vaccination are not something to be taken lightly.

As for children in Australia, the vaccination program is scheduled to continue in June. “The university is confident that this vaccination program is safe to offer to students,” says Christopher Dalton, principal of the school. “We will be working with the Victorian Department of Human Services and Monash City Immunization Services in planning the vaccination programme.”

The assumption is that sickness and dizziness are “normal reactions” to a vaccine. The overriding theme for Australians is that “We have a vaccine and we will use it”. For young girls in the US, watchful waiting is recommended.

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REFERENCES

(1) “Vaccine linked to the disease”. [http://www.news.com.au/story/0],23599,21774793-2,00.html

(2) Braun M. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): utility and limitations. John’s Hopkins Bloomburg School of Public Health. http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/VAERS.htm

(3) CDC says Gardasil side effects are minor, additional warning labels unnecessary. Feb. 26, 2007 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=63651

(4) Coors, EA. Polysorbate 80 in medical products and non-immunological anaphylactoid reactions. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005 Dec;95(6):593-9. PMID: 16400901

(5) Braun MM, et al. Syncope after immunization. Arch Pediatr Adolescent Med 1997;151:255-9.