No plans to halt HPV shots after death of British girl, 14
September 30, 2009
Theresa Boyle
HEALTH REPORTER
The HPV vaccine given to a British girl just hours before she died is not used in Canada, but the drug company that makes it hopes it will be approved for use here next year.
Natalie Morton, 14, died Monday, shortly after being given Cervarix, a vaccine that protects against the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer.
There are no indications of any link between her death and the vaccine, which was administered at her school in Coventry. An autopsy is being carried out to determine the cause of death.
The National Health Service in Coventry has temporarily suspended the program while staff administering the vaccine are given training on how to answer questions from anyone concerned about its safety.
A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline said Cervarix is going through an approval process with Health Canada. The drug company hopes to hear early next year whether the vaccine can be put on the market here.
"Health Canada is monitoring the situation and will be reviewing details pertinent to the case in Great Britain when it assesses the safety of Cervarix as part of the review of the manufacturer's pending new drug submission that seeks approval to sell this vaccine," said Gary Scott Holub, spokesperson for Health Canada, adding that vaccines are only authorized for sale after undergoing rigorous reviews to ensure their safety.
Canada approved the use of a similar vaccine, Gardasil, in 2006. The following year, the Ontario government began offering it free through school vaccination clinics to girls in Grade 8. It is aimed at preventing four types of sexually transmitted HPV that are responsible for up to 70 per cent of cervical cancer and 90 per cent of genital warts. This year's programming is just ramping up in most Ontario schools and is not being altered because of the death in England.
There has been one death in Canada that "may" be linked to Gardasil, said Robert Paterson, spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada. The death is believed to have happened in Quebec over the summer.
"The investigation into the death is ongoing, but the results to date show there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine was the cause of death," Paterson said.
There have also been 18 hospitalizations of young women after taking the vaccine, "but none of these adverse effects have indicated that there were any trends or patterns with the HPV vaccine," he added.
Toronto Star
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