Mother: Gardasil disabled my child

A mother who claims her daughter suffered “horrendous adverse effects” after receiving the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer has brought proceedings in the High Court.

Fiona Kirby, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, is a member of a new parents’ support group Reaction and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma (Regret) for those who claim their teenage girls became ill after getting the vaccine. Ms Kirby, a nurse, is seeking a High Court order looking for the withdrawal of the license for the Gardasil HPV vaccine which is currently being offered to 11- to 16-year-old girls as a possible cervical cancer preventative.

An order restraining the Health Products Regulatory Authority — which monitors health products in Ireland — from proceeding with the use of Gardasil in any vaccine programme is also being sought. The vaccine which has been offered to teenage girls in Ireland since May 2010 as part of the schools vaccination programme is recommended by the World Health Organisation.