HPV Vaccine and side effects

A group of British teenagers has launched the first legal action in the U.K. against the makers of cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix. They have suffered symptoms ranging from paralysis and ­seizures to fatigue and muscle aches since being given the vaccine. But a growing number of parents and medical experts believe the vaccine may have alarming side effects.

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmith-Kline, which makes Cervarix, said: “Cervarix had to undergo rigorous testing with large numbers of people in numerous clinical studies.” She said more than 70,000 doses of the firm’s vaccine had been given in trials and recipients had been monitored for more than six years. Clinical studies had shown Cervarix was “generally well tolerated”. Critics say its sister vaccine Gardasil, used in the US for nearly three years, is linked to almost 12,000 reactions including 32 deaths, paralysis, seizures, blood clots, heart ­attacks, sight problems and blackouts.

With any type of mass immunization there will always be some vaccine reactions the question as I see it is whether there are significantly more reactions than expected or projected. In the U.S. those with injuries can file lawsuits but they can also go through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The link takes you to a much more thorough website than you would expect and gives all the information needed to file a claim.

It makes me wonder though, How high would the risk of side effect have to be to keep you from receiving a vaccine that could prevent a recurrence of your cancer?