Cervical Cancer Vaccine Faces Scrutiny
July 8, 2008 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a Merck spokesperson said none of the 10 confirmed deaths have been proven to be caused by the vaccine. "It's important to remember that an adverse event doesn't mean there's a relationship between the event and in this case a vaccination, only that an event occurred after vaccination," Jim Russell of Merck public relations said.
The CDC said it will continue to look into reports of illness but said the vaccine is safe. About 26-million women have received the vaccine over the past two years. It's recommended for women ages nine to 26. Gardasil helps protect against the Human Papilloma Virus, HPV, which is the virus that can cause cervical cancer.
