Two Wisconsin women filed a lawsuit claiming that the HPV vaccine “Gardasil” had caused them infertility. Health experts believe that their allegation is implausible.
Madelyne Meylor, 20, and Olivia Meylor, 19, are sisters. They assert that because of Gardasil, they are undergoing menopause causing infertility. Currently, the case is being reviewed by the Special Masters at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which will decide if they will receive any compensation.
Merck & Co., the manufacturer of the vaccine, had conducted 25,000 tests and assured that the drug is safe and effective. After the drug was approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration, over 125 million doses were prescribed and researchers have not associated the administration of the drug to primary ovarian failures.
Based on a research recently conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, are effective: one dose of the drug could already decrease the risk of HPV by 82 percent. Furthermore, the frequency of the infection in 14 to 16 year olds has diminished by 56 percent after the introduction of these cancer vaccines.
The case filed by the Meylor sisters is not the first time that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has received reports of issues related to the HPV drugs. It has recorded 212 claims with 11 fatalities. Out of these 212 cases, 68 were provided some recompense and around 63 were discharged.
"Since this is not a recognized adverse effect, the judges will have to make a decision about that. There's no scientific basis for it,” explained Dr. William Schaffner, the Chairman of Preventive Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to ABC News.
Dr. Kim Gecsi of the University Hospitals Case Medical Center also said, "There is nothing about this particular vaccine that would make this at all plausible. There is nothing hormonal in Gardasil or anything anti-hormonal in Gardasil -- nothing that should encourage the body to stop producing ovarian hormones."
