2 - Schoolgirl dies after cancer jab

"Schoolgirl dies after cancer jab." BBC News. 29 Sept. 2009. Web. 30 Sept. 2009. .

A 14-year old school girl at Blue Coat CofE School in Coventry was admitted to the University hospital shortly after she received the Cervarix vaccine, where she later died. Cervarix is a routine vaccine that has been known to fight against the spread of a virus known as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). As with many other viruses, there are many strains of HPV that exist. It has been determined that 12 of these strains have been known to lead to the development of cervical cancer. Questions have obviously arisen as to wether or not the vaccine was what caused the death of the 14-year old? No one will be able to know until they have done a post-mortem autopsy. In the mean time however, the local NHS has put a pause on their vaccination programs, and have taken the vaccine that was administered to the 14-year old into quarantine.

These vaccination programs have been a topic of great debate for as long as they have been around. The main issue is why the country has chosen to use the Cervarix vaccine rather than the more prominent Gardasil vaccine. Gardasil is what most other countries in the world use to vaccinate there young girls. Cervarix unlike Gardasil is only capable of protection against only two strains of HPV that have been known to cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. When asked, the head of the NSH said, "Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the young girl. We are working with the Department of Health and MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) to better understand this case, as at this stage the exact cause of this tragic death is unknown."