Spain: First case filed against HPV vaccine manufacturers and health authorities

by Alicia Capilla (President of AAVP)

AAVP, together with law firm Almodóvar & Jara, filed the first of a long series of lawsuits for damages caused by HPV vaccines. The complaint is filed in the High Court against health authorities and vaccine manufacturers.

The process of trying to find justice now begins for one of the Valencian girls who suffered an adverse reaction after the second shot of Gardasil in 2009. Spanish families whose lives have been adversely impacted by HPV vaccines have organized as the Association of Affected People by HPV Vaccine (AAVP www.aavp.es) to assist others in similar circumstances.

The well documented lawsuit is based on violations of the fundamental right to informed consent prior to medical interventions which all citizens have.

Parents whose daughters are vaccinated with Gardasil are not informed beforehand of the possible risks their daughters may suffer, despite the fact there are numerous reports in Spanish, European and American databases. Furthermore, most of the adverse reactions these girls suffered are included in the brochure/leaflet of the product.

The introduction of HPV vaccines into the market without their real effectiveness being known is another issue. The effectiveness has not sufficiently been proven and will not be demonstrated for decades.

Much of the damage these vaccines are producing is being hidden, despite the fact that pharmacovigilance systems around the world are collecting numerous reports of similar reactions.

Moreover, the Spanish Health Ministry withheld information from affected families by denying that the damage the girls suffered was legitimate and previously known via similar cases being reported to health authorities in various countries.

The Spanish Ministry of Health, Sanofi Pasteur, and Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD), producers of Gardasil®, human papillomavirus vaccine, have a responsibility to report accurately and in a timely manner all data available at the time.

Health authorities around the world are trying to deny any causal relationship between HPV vaccines and adverse events occurring after vaccine use. In some cases, authorities say that the new medical conditions are psychological. This is a paradox because if people in different times and different places suffer a similar adverse reaction, it is undeniable that the cause is the vaccine.

The damage these girls have suffered and many continue to suffer were not all included in the leaflet at the time of injection. Some of them were included later. Others continue without being warned.

Based on data that the AAVP has examined, the number of suspected deaths and serious sequelae left behind after human papillomavirus vaccines is completely unacceptable.

As stated in the case filed, health authorities do not investigate the facts and their attitude is favoring manufacturers. They even accused the victims of suffering psychological disorders, which is not true.

This first case will be followed by another four within two months. The firm will continue to file additional cases, not only against Gardasil® but also Cervarix®, the other brand of the HPV vaccinemanufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

www.aavp.es