Black Triangle

The sad death of a young girl which occurred on the same day she was given the HPV vaccine, which is unlikely to be linked to the vaccine, has prompted Theodore Dalrymple to write the following.

The death of a 14-year-old girl shortly after immunisation against cervical cancer is certainly a dramatic — and terribly tragic — event. It is increasingly unlikely that the vaccine was responsible for her death: one event following closely upon another is not in itself sufficient proof of causation. But let us, for the sake of argument, accept that the vaccine caused her death. What then?

When the immunisation programme against cervical cancer started, it was estimated, or guessed, that the vaccine might cause one death in a million cases: 1.4 million girls have been immunised, and this might be the first death caused by it.

The estimate, or guess, has therefore proved accurate; and if the trials of the vaccine are to be credited, the estimated number of lives eventually saved will far exceed one, and the extra years of life saved will be far in excess of those lost. This is no consolation to the grieving parents, of course; but it is how the rest of us ought to think.
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Not long ago I reviewed favourably a book about the MMR vaccine controversy by a scholar who took what, in my view, is the correct view that the claims made that it causes autism are false and based on the most obviously deficient scientific research, something that could and should have been obvious from the very first. Indeed, so bad was the science that it should never have been published.

When my review appeared, I was immediately in receipt of abusive letters, not one of which pointed to any fact, but all of which assumed, without any evidence whatsoever (for no such evidence exists), that I was in the pay of the vaccine companies.

Why does immunisation arouse such passions? Are we secretly in love with the diseases that we know, and want them to continue?

The whole article is worth reading, and the MHRA press release on HPV vaccine is here.

The safety of the vaccine is not in question and no link can currently be made between the girl’s death and the vaccine.

The national HPV vaccination programme will continue as there are no supply issues associated with Cervarix. New stock is readily available.

MHRA Chief Executive, Professor Kent Woods, said the risk/benefit profile for Cervarix remains positive and that the safety and efficacy of the vaccine had been extensively researched in clinical trials before licensing.

“More than 1.4 million doses of HPV vaccine have now been administered in the United Kingdom and there have only been a little more than two thousand reports of adverse reactions.

“This is comparative with what we would normally expect from any vaccination programme and the reports of reaction to Cervarix have been relatively mild, including fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.”

Professor Woods said many women’s lives will be saved in the future as a direct result of this vaccine.

“More than 3000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and approximately 1000 women die from it,” he said.

“This young girl’s death is an absolute tragedy and our condolences go out to her family and friends.

“We are working with the Department of Health and the vaccine manufacturer GSK, and we all wait now for the results of the investigation. As soon as more information is known, we will take the appropriate action as necessary.”