There has been much controversy over the past few months regarding the effects of HPV vaccines. Now Merck has issued a recall of their vaccine adding to the controversy over the effectiveness and side effects of the vaccine.
Fox news reports on the issues surrounding Merck's HPV vaccine.
“Merck is issuing a voluntary recall of one lot of Gardasil vaccines due to the risk that some vials of the vaccine may contain glass particles, according to a statement released today by the pharmaceutical company. Gardasil protects against certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer in women. The CDC added that it continues to recommend that all preteen girls and boys receive three doses of the vaccine at age 11 or 12 years old,” according to Fox.
Fox explains what could happen if a patient is injected with one of the defective shots, “A medical assessment conducted by Merck concluded that if a patient were to receive one of the contaminated vaccines, they had a “remote risk” of experiencing a reaction at the injection site. This lot of vaccines was distributed between August 20, 2013 and October 9, 2013. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it purchased 350,000 doses of Gardasil from this lot for their own vaccination programs.”
The CDC made a statement about the issue, “Vaccines from the affected lot were distributed between August 20, 2013, and October 9, 2013. No other lots are affected. People who have recently received an HPV vaccine or their parents do not need to take any action as a result of this recall. If a vaccine containing glass particles (tiny enough to get through a needle) is given to a patient, reactions routinely seen after vaccination may occur (for instance, swelling at the injection site)."
