5 million last year alone from the sale of Gardasil. At age 10, Jenny developed a rare skin disease called pityriasis lichenoides that’s thought to be triggered by an overactive immune system, and her grandmother died of a nervous system disease. But the girl’s father, a psychology professor at UC-Berkley, is not convinced that Gardasil did not play some role in his daughter’s illness. At the time of its approval, Merck & CO said that clinical trials had proven the vaccine to be between 90-100% effective in preventing the transmission of some strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer.

In an interview with a Florida TV station, Dr. Gardasil has a laundry list of reported \”incidents\” - 8,000 to date - which include nausea, vomiting, seizures, paralysis, autoimmune disorders and 18 deaths which are under investigation due to the timing between the receipt of the vaccine and the young women\’s death. It looks like Gardasil might be linked to several cases of paralysis. Fed\’s are probing into records of over 8,000 adverse events reported since the 2006 FDA approval of the Merck vaccine touted as an HPV cancer preventative.

But reports in the last year have contradicted those claims. Side effects reported include paralysis, immune system disorders and a record of 18 possible deaths\”I Want To Be One Less\” - the familiar slogan of the heavily advertised vaccine may prove to be more fatal that fabulous. She began having severe headaches and lethargy immediately after the injections, and then developed paralysis in her left leg. Merck claims Gardasil is practically side-effect free.

Harper said that there has not been enough post-marketing surveillance of Gardasil to insure that it is free of side effects that could prove particularly dangerous to young girls. Following heaving criticism from the media and other organizations, Merck dropped the push for state mandates in February 2006, instead concentrating on major ad campaigns urging the general female population to obtain the vaccine in order to prevent cervical cancer. The average payment for injury has been $1 million. TV screens and movie theatre ads have been singing the praises of the drug, claiming that it is a preventative against HPV (human papillomavirus), which is the main cause of cervical cancer.

Even one of the researchers who worked on this vaccine has made this argument. According to US News, Philip Tetlock believes Jenny may carry genes that predisposed her to problems with the Gardasil vaccine. Last year, the government added HPV to a list of vaccines, including polio, hepatitis and measles, granted immunity from suit. Gardasil causes paralysis?.

So we can’t do that until we have more data. A New York Post analysis of adverse event reports filed through April 30 of 2008 found that about 20 percent of such reports followed injections of Gardasil. Gardasil has been implicated in the paralysis of a 13-year-old girl who developed a degenerative muscle disease shortly after receiving the vaccine. According to a recent article in US News and World Report, 13-year-old Jenny Tetlock began experiencing muscle weakness about a month after receiving Gardasil.

Lawyers in the last month have filed the first two claims on behalf of girls with ailments blamed on Gardasil under a federal program to compensate victims of vaccine-caused illness. Brittany LeClaire, 13, alleges that she suffered paralysis as well within days of receiving her last dose of Gardasil. The approval of Gardasil was much hyped, with Merck claiming that it had the potential to eventually eliminate most cervical cancers. If victims prove a vaccine likely caused injuries, the program pays a maximum $250,000 for death.

We don’t know yet what’s going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in place a process that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment. I wonder if the Governor of Texas is rethinking requiring the administration of Gardasil to all the girls in the state now. I just read in the newspaper that Gardasil might be responsible for causing paralysis. Following weeks of having to use a walker, Brittany still walks with a limp.

Immediately following it\’s FDA approval, Merck went on a nationwide campaign to make the vaccine mandatory, actively urging legislatures in all 50 states to pass laws requiring all school aged girls to be treated with the drug. Meanwhile, Merck, the maker of Gardasil, has been named in two lawsuits that allege the vaccine caused paralysis in two other girls. At least two other girls have experienced paralysis after being administered Gardasil, and both have filed suit against Merck. Within 15 months, the California native was almost completely paralyzed.

A 2007 analysis by Judicial Watch of Gardasil adverse event reports revealed that there had been at least 3,461 complaints of adverse reactions to the Gardasil vaccine. Advertised heavily across the US and abroad, Gardasil has been touted as a \”must have\” vaccine for girls aged 9 thru 26. Texas was the only state to pass laws mandating the vaccine before Merck withdrew it\’s efforts. Lawyers are already foaming at the mouth for Gardasil paralysis cases.