This week in Coventry, U.K. 14-year-old Natalie Morton died a few hours after receiving a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus known to cause cervical cancer, the Globe and Mail reported Sept. 29.
An autopsy will be completed to investigate any relationship between her death and the shot. She appeared healthy before receiving the Cervarix vaccine at school Monday.
The batch of vaccine used at the Coventry school has since been quarantined and local health authorities have suspended the HPV vaccination program for two days to give staff further training on how to answer to patients’ safety concerns. National Health Service Coventry said the program will resume shortly.
The vaccine against HPV, known by trade names Cervarix and Gardasil, has been given to millions of girls in Europe and North America since it was first approved in 2006. That it has become commonly administered so quickly is concerning, especially when rare tragedies like this one occur.
It’s puzzling GlaxoSmithKline, the drug company that manufactures Cervarix, is the department working to investigate the case. It’s important to get to the root of the problem, but GlaxoSmithKline has an obvious bias to preserve their product’s image.
In Canada, the HPV vaccine’s aggressive ad campaign suggests getting the shot should be a clear choice for young women. School vaccination programs meant to target girls before they become sexually active, when the shot is most effective, have also increased the sense of urgency surrounding the vaccine.
Whether or not the autopsy reveals this Coventry student’s death was related to the Cervarix shot, the vaccine’s reputation will suffer.
By association, this incident draws attention to the risks of accepting new vaccines hot off the assembly lines.
It’s also possible the student suffered from an allergy or drug interaction. Her death speaks to the importance of fully investigating each patient’s suitability for a treatment, especially with such a widely promoted vaccine. This dark event sheds light on the need to ask questions about the drugs we consider safe. As the pace of medical discovery marches on, it’s important to stop and consider if we’re willing to put our bodies on the front lines with the research.
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