Two young women from Wisconsin have filed a claim in federal court arguing that the HPV vaccines they received led to premature ovarian failure and left them unable to get pregnant. The two women, 19 and 20-year-old sisters, have sparked serious discussion about the potential consequences of the popular cervical cancer vaccines that have been administered to young girls and boys across the country for years.
According to experts, the recent claim from Wisconsin represents the first ovarian failure allegation against the HPV vaccine, though not the first injury claim. The girls’ case will be heard as part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program. The NVIC says that it has awarded payments related to HPV vaccine injuries to a total of 68 people. The program says it has dismissed a total of 63 claims and that there are another 81 HPV claims pending. The successful claims have added up to more than $5.9 million in payouts
Currently, public health officials across the country recommend that three doses of the vaccine be given to girls and boys between 11 and 12 to protect against the development of cervical and throat cancer as well as genital warts. The two brands of the vaccine available are Gardasil and Cervarix.
In this case, the young women say that they received their first Gardasil shot at 13 and soon after their ovaries stopped producing eggs. In fact, by the time the girls were 16, after they received their third dose of the vaccine, they had been diagnosed with premature ovarian failure.
They say they have both suffered through premature menopause including some nasty side effects such as insomnia, night sweats and headaches. More than anything, the girls say that they are devastated about not being able to become pregnant. One sister has been told that she has no chance of becoming pregnant while another has a five percent chance.
Though it may surprise many people, adverse reactions to vaccines are not as uncommon as many may think. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 22,000 adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine reported between 2006 and 2013. The CDC says that the vast majority of these reactions, 92 percent, were for common and minor issues such as fainting, dizziness and nausea.
Though the majority of reactions were for minor issues, a 2011 study conducted by the CDC revealed that some serious complications have also been reported in connection with the HPV vaccine. These include things such as seizures, stroke, allergic reactions and Guillain-Barre syndrome, a dangerous autoimmune condition that can lead to paralysis.
The lawyer for both young women says that he hopes their case raises awareness about the potential downsides to the HPV vaccine. Though the vaccine is safe for many people, it is possible that there might be other girls and young women who have been affected and just don’t know it.
CA
12 Comments
JG Malone
The Crazy Train just left the station. The HPV vaccine targets the HPV virus, not cancer, not ovaries. It is a sub-unit vaccine, not live attenuated. No killed or modified virus is adminustered. Trying to link ovarian failure is rather far reaching and money grubbing by their attorneys. I suppose they are hoping for a settlement. Sad, sad day -I hope the judge kicks them to the curb and charges them court costs.
Mark Oshinskie
Another way--besides waiting until 35+ to conceive and getting scarring from STDs and abortions-- we create IVF users that we create the "need" for IVF, surrogacy and egg purchases.
superdave
Unless someone describes a how the vaccine actually causes infertility, I will consider this just a coincidence. We have no way to know what would have happened to them without the vaccine. It is possible that they would have still had ovarian failure.
Roj Blake
Vaccines can cause autoimmune disorders, so technically an autoimmune reaction is possible in the ovaries, especially if pregancy hormones are used as an adjuvant in said vaccines, like the tetanus shots which many are claiming are being used as population control methods in the 3rd world. A lot of these vaccine scientists are raving eugenicists who feel there are "too many people" on the planet, so why wouldn't they devise a way of covert sterilization. Before anyone starts shouting the "conspiracy theorist" pejorative, please research people like Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Oprah Winfrey, they are believe the world is overpopulated and that extreme measures are necessary.
Jaime
My daughter died as a result of this vaccine. She was only 17 and had absolutely no medical history. This vaccine only target 4 strains of HPV of nearly 100. Most HPV clears the body, and cervical cancer is easily detectable with pap tests and highly treatable. The average age of cervical cancer is 49. I only wish I had researched this, I would have maybe had another 32 years with my daughter-even if she did die later of cervical cancer.
KJ
This vaccine became available when I was a teenager. I never had it administered because I never felt it was necessary and I wanted to wait to see what the long-term affects were. It doesn't prevent CANCER, it targets an STD. Seems to me there are other ways to prevent STDs. Personally, I think that drug companies market unecessary drugs. Period. I have two daughters now and I hope they no one forces me to give them a truly unecessary vaccine, regardless of long-term effects.
jjt
Two sisters develop premature ovarian failure and no mention of genetic history? Isn't this the same reasoning that linked autism to vaccinations?
Larkby
Even when vaccines have a detrimental effect on a small portion of the recipients, you need to balance the antivaccine rhetorical with the fact that they generally prevent disease in millions. It is irresponsible and verging on evil to attempt to suppress and undercut the use of vaccines, not to mention the fact that these arguments are grounded on bad science.
Jaime
Ok, but why do some people, like my daughter die? Why do sisters become infertile? Why did my coworker's daughter have Guillan Barre syndrome after vaccination with HPV vaccine? Maybe some vaccines are ok, maybe some are of great value to society. This isn't one of them. What genetically causes some people to react to vaccines and others to be ok? Far more research needs to be done on those with adverse reactions. Pharmaceutical companies and physicians should insist that parents know the possible consequences of vaccination and the ingredients of the vaccine, then let the parents make a well informed decision. If I had researched this vaccine more I would have never had my 17 year old daughter vaccinated. She passed away from this in August.
Carol
Any time any type of treatment, preventative, drug or procedure is done there is a risk of complications or side effects.
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