It has been seen time and again that pharma companies come up with some revolutionary-sounding drug, it gets FDA approval, but then, after some time, the patients who have taken the drug start to get severe side effects or other complications. That is pretty much the case with the Gardasil Lawsuit as well, and just keep on reading because it gets even more suspicious.
Why the Gardasil Lawsuit Became Such a Big Issue
Well, the thing that made Gardasil kinda famous is that it was marketed and given out as a shot that can defend you from HPV. And for those who don’t even know a thing or two about it yet, see, it is a virus associated with the development of cervical and other types of cancers. Merck & Co. was the company that created this vaccine, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light for its use in 2006, and that pretty much was two decades ago. No doubt, when all this happened, the sale and marketing of this drug was just like any other famous drug out there.
Not a single doubt in the fact that Gardasil was considered as this revolutionary cancer prevention measure and that’s pretty much millions of people thought. Nonetheless, after a while, a certain number of individuals who took the vaccine started to report severe health issues. Like? Oh, we’ll come to that later and then you’ll know why this lawsuit is a serious one.
What Gardasil Was Meant to Do and How It Entered the Market
HPV, which stands for human papillomavirus, is quite a common infection and a lot of people know that already in the country. And it is also a fact that the majority of these infections clear up without any treatment, but the thing is, some types may cause cancer. That’s also a real possibility. So sure enough, Gardasil is a vaccine developed to protect against this group of high-risk HPV strains.
Later down the line, when the approval was done and the vaccine was already in the market, the company, Merck, advertised Gardasil for its ability to prevent cancer and spent a lot of money on marketing, especially targeting the parents of young girls. The idea was to vaccinate the children early, before they get exposed to HPV, and that’s a good thinking right there, no two ways about that.
But, when people started finding out about some patients having some other health issues because of this, then no doubt, they began to question how fast this vaccine actually got approval, like it took around six months for Gardasil to be approved, and that is a quick time for a new vaccine. No doubt, at that moment, Merck was also grappling with the consequences of the pain drug Vioxx that was withdrawn. But then, Gardasil internally was looked at as a key financial comeback product.
A few years down the road, doubts started emerging regarding the experimentation methods, marketing claims, and the way the side effects were managed.
Side Effects at the Center of the Lawsuits
See, there is not just one but many lawsuits that simply claim that people have had severe side effects after taking Gardasil. Some individuals claim they developed conditions such as:
- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
- Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)
- Autoimmune and neurological disorders, including chronic fatigue, nerve pain, and Guillain-Barré syndrome
So far, it is true that Merck has been very clear in its position that no scientifically proven connection has been found between Gardasil and the mentioned conditions. But as a patient and the citizen of this country, after seeing so many pharma companies get involved in lawsuits and cases like this, can you really believe that? That’s the question a lot of people are openly asking.
