New side effects of the Gardasil vaccine–the drug marketed by Merck to reduce cervical cancer –are being brought to light.  Thanks to patient rights groups, the symptoms listed on the drug’s insert, which include fainting, seizures and soreness at the injection site  should have a few more.  With thousands of women suffering side effects after any one of this three shot vaccination series, the truth about this dangerous drug goes beyond cervical cancer and has been linked to a variety of immune reactions including Guillain Barre Syndrome, and idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) a immune-mediated clotting disorder.

First, medical researchers have presented data that shows that the vaccine is not really any more protective against this common female cancer than regular screenings and PAP smears are.  Merck ran a convincing campaign for the medication which was released to the market in 2006 and advertised to protect against the four most common strains of  human papilloma virus (HPV) a sexually transmitted disease that is known to trigger

changes in the cells of the cervix which can lead to cancer. The drug is marketed for girls between the age of 9 and 26, but very little testing has been conducted on girls younger than 15, and it was released for use without fully understanding its side effects.  Due to struggling sales, Gardasil has recently been approved for use in men and boys to prevent anal cancers, and for women up until age 45.

In the analysis of nine VAERS reports released by the group SANE Vax, specific incidences of the side effect ITP were cited for several women just weeks, or days after vaccination.  ITP appears to be a condition where the body produces antibodies to platelets.  Platelets are a component of the blood that are responsible for sticking together and causing blood to clot normally.  When antibodies form it is a sign that the body is attacking itself.  As a result platelet levels can drop dangerously low and result in bruising, and bleeding from the nose and gums or produce heavy menstrual cycles. Extremely low platelet counts can lead to death from bleeding around the brain, or gastrointestinal bleeding.

Report after report tells the brief, abbreviated stories of something much more difficult to convey on paper.  The life-changing illnesses that state simply, Recovered? NO.  Disabled? YES. So matter of fact, yet the incidences of  ITP just hours or days after Gardasil is not considered to be a severe reaction.  In more than one case, medical doctors who consulted on the patient agreed that the symptoms were in fact caused by the Gardasil vaccine.

Dig deeply for the facts before you roll up your sleeve.  Symptoms and complications abound with the Gardasil vaccine and the information is out there if you know where to look. Certainly every young girl who has been injured by this shot would have loved to know the dangers before theirs.