The Irish Times – Thursday, February 10, 2011

MORE THAN 300 adverse reactions to the cervical cancer vaccine used in the State’s national immunisation programme have been reported so far to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).

The vaccination programme began in second-level schools last May and about 90,000 doses of the vaccine have now been administered. The vaccine is given in three doses and at this stage the majority of girls have received their second dose.

The IMB said yesterday, after releasing its latest annual report, that it had received a total of 314 reports of adverse events associated with use of the Gardasil vaccine up to the end of January 2011.

It said the majority of the reports have been “non-serious and consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects for the vaccine, as described in the product information and include cases of malaise, headache, dizziness, syncope [fainting], fatigue, skin and injection site reactions and gastrointestinal symptoms”.

There have also been four reports of seizures, two occurring in patients with epilepsy, as well as four reports of anaphylactic-type reactions. all patients recovered following treatment.