About 80 lawsuits: Merck HPV vaccine is accused of concealing serious side effects!

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A total of about 80 lawsuits have been filed: Merck HPV vaccine is accused of concealing serious side effects!

Despite critics’ claims that the Gardasil HPV vaccine can cause serious side effects , national and international experts still recommend the vaccine.

In April , a federal court ordered Merck to turn over data detailing adverse events from its Gardasil trial after plaintiffs claiming losses from the vaccine were consolidated into a multidistrict lawsuit , with proceedings expected to begin within the next two years.

Although this latest lawsuit shows that the court considers the claimant’s allegations very serious, Merck must submit relevant data for reference . In fact, the history of the lawsuit actually goes back several years.

“The big question is whether a jury will accept the plaintiffs’ theories despite their lack of scientifically rigorous evidence to support their claims,” said Harry Nelson , founding partner at Nelson/Hardiman Healthcare Lawyers. If that happens, and there’s a big plaintiff win in one or two early cases, that’s going to force a settlement.”

A total of about 80 lawsuits have been filed: Merck HPV vaccine is accused of concealing serious side effects!

Litigation related to Gardasil

Merck has faced about 80 lawsuits over its Gardasil HPV vaccine since the start of 2020 . Claimants allege Merck misrepresented the vaccine’s safety and efficacy and that Gardasil can cause side effects as serious as cancer.

Gardasil is a human papillomavirus ( HPV ) vaccine used to prevent infection with certain strains of HPV . In 2006 , the FDA first approved Gardasil for people ages 9 to 26 ; in 2018 , the FDA expanded its approval to people up to age 45 .

According to data from the United Nations Children’s Fund , the vaccine has been introduced in about 125 countries after it was approved for marketing , providing vaccination assistance to one-third of girls aged 9-14 around the world.

However, some have claimed that the vaccine has caused serious adverse effects such as autoimmune diseases, premature ovarian failure, chronic fatigue, etc. It accused Merck of downplaying the risk warnings related to the vaccine and putting its own interests above public health safety.

Based on this, they believe that more research is needed in the future to fully understand the potential long-term effects of vaccines, especially in young people.

According to the lead attorney’s website , the plaintiffs allege that the manufacturer of the Gardasil vaccine “did not provide adequate warning of possible side effects associated with the product and that Merck fraudulently withheld evidence about the vaccine’s health risks while misrepresenting that Gardasil could prevent cervical cancer. “

In short, they have filed a lawsuit against Merck on the grounds that Merck failed to issue risk warnings and other issues.

In response, Merck responded that the vaccine has been rigorously tested and has been shown to protect against HPV- related diseases .

In addition, Merck also believes that the reported adverse reactions of the vaccine are extremely rare, and the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential risks.

” More than 20 years of research and development have built a body of scientific evidence that HPV vaccines are safe and effective , ” Merck spokesman Bob Josephson wrote in an email to The Associated Press in March . We will vigorously defend these cases . “

Numerous lawsuits

As of July 28 , 2022 , 48 cases are pending and at least 100 additional cases will be filed across the country. Separately, lawsuits are being filed in some state courts, including seven cases in California.

Omar Ochoa , a Texas-based multidistrict litigation expert and analyst , said plaintiffs in California are more conservative than in similar lawsuits because typical Democratic laws favor corporations. states achieved better results.

Although the timing has been pushed back to September 2024 , the rulings are expected to come ahead of the consolidated federal lawsuit, and the outcome could be a harbinger of multidistrict litigation. Ochoa predicted.

Meanwhile, the multi-district lawsuit was pressed . In April 2023 , Judge Conrad ordered Merck to turn over its entire adverse event database to plaintiffs. Ochoa said the move is not unusual.

“It’s not uncommon for parties in a lawsuit to request each other’s documents, especially for documents that the parties believe prove their case. In this case, the plaintiffs asked for information about HPV vaccine adverse event reports , which Merck refused to provide This information, so the plaintiffs filed a motion to compel, which is essentially asking the court to compel Merck to provide the information.

Nelson said the recent resolution doesn’t mean Merck is in a weak legal position , quite the contrary, that the science doesn’t support the claimants. “If I were to hear the case, I think the plaintiffs would have a hard time because they don’t have any solid research to back up their claims,” he said. “Having said that, as a parent, I can understand the hesitancy to get vaccinated. After all, there are other options. Compared with other cancers, the risk of getting cancer with HPV is relatively small. And the disease is also preventable, and if people are not sexually active, they are not at high risk.”

Agencies support the vaccination

There are currently no national or international regulatory agencies and professional organizations recommending against the use of Gardasil .

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the World Health Organization all agree with the FDA guidelines that people aged 9-45 should be vaccinated as much as possible.

The CDC said in its fact sheet that the HPV vaccine does cause some mild side effects such as fainting, nausea and headaches, but it does not cause fertility problems or other serious side effects.

“The vaccine is made from a protein in the virus and is non-infectious, meaning it does not cause HPV infection or cancer ,” the agency said in its 2021 vaccination fact sheet .

While the FDA declined to comment for this story, a spokesperson for the CDC told Biospace via email that it monitors the safety of all vaccines, and more than 15 years of monitoring and analysis show that HPV vaccines are safe . ” More than 160 studies in multiple countries have been conducted to study the association of specific adverse events with HPV vaccines , and all of these studies have shown that HPV vaccines are safe.”

The spokesperson also emphasized that Gardasil was effective in preventing HPV infection associated with several cancers in both men and women.

According to the CDC fact sheet, infection rates for most HPV- related cancers (cervix , vagina, and anus) and genital warts fell 88 percent among teenage girls .

In addition, fewer women have been diagnosed with cervical precancer since Gardasil was first approved in 2006 . Thus, ” HPV vaccination has the potential to prevent more than 90% of HPV- caused cancers .”

Reference:

Merck’s Gardasil Under Legal Scrutiny Despite Lack of Evidence to Support Suits | BioSpace

A total of about 80 lawsuits have been filed: Merck HPV vaccine is accused of concealing serious side effects!

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