Doctors on cervical cancer vaccine Garaisil: Benefts outweigh costs

Minneapolis, MN

The new vaccine designed to protect girls and young women from cervical cancer has a safety record that appears to be in line with that of other vaccines, a new government report found. Some serious complications were reported -- including 32 deaths and two cases of Lou Gehrig's disease -- but there is no way to prove they were produced by the vaccine, which has been given to 7 million girls and young women during its first years on the market.

The most common serious complications after vaccination with Gardasil were fainting episodes and an increased risk for potentially fatal blood clots, possibly related to oral contraceptive use and obesity, the study found.

But while the tone of the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was reassuring, the authors noted that the analysis was based on imperfect data drawn from voluntary reports.

"We feel confident recommending people get the vaccine; the benefits still outweigh the risks," said Dr. Barbara A. Slade, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did the study together with the Food and Drug Administration.

Nevertheless, an accompanying editorial questioned whether any level of risk is acceptable when inoculating a healthy population against a disease that can be prevented through screening and preemptive treatment.

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