Adverse reactions to cervical vaccine

MOTHERS Alliance Ireland has learned that, to date, 34 adverse reactions to the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine have been reported to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).

These include skin reactions (urticaria), gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, myalgia, headache, malaise, injection-site reactions. The IMB report also refers to dizziness, syncope and anaphylactic-type reactions.

As is generally known, only 1% to 10% of side-effects are ever reported, so we can presume that the numbers of girls suffering some side-effect is far greater than the figure of 34 recorded.

Mothers Alliance Ireland had called for a proper reporting system to be set up before the vaccination campaign got under way, one to which people would have easy access, similar to the vaccine adverse event reporting system (VAERS) in the US.

There has been no response to our request.

The IMB monitoring system is not good enough. The numbers of adverse reactions reported to the US body has now topped the 20,000 mark with the death toll increasing to 84.

Nora Bennis

National Spokesperson

Mothers Alliance Ireland

North Circular Road

Limerick