Despite Gardasil Health Concerns, New Merck Campaign Aims for Younger Customers for HPV Vaccine

Merck has launched a new marketing campaign that is designed to encourage parents of children as young as nine to get its HPV vaccine, as the company already faces a growing number of Gardasil lawsuits brought by teens and young adults who developed serious and debilitating auto-immune injuries, including a condition known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

While most health agencies in the U.S. still strongly encourage young adults to receive the Gardasil vaccine, concerns have emerged in recent years that Merck failed to adequately warn about problems that may be experienced after receiving the injection.

Gardasil was first introduced in 2006, as a vaccine for prevention of HPV infections, which can be sexually transmitted and lead to the later development of cervical cancer. Following years of marketing by the drug maker that suggested the vaccine was safe and effective, the injection has been widely recommended for young girls and boys before adolescence and potential sexual activity, since it was thought to carry few, if any, serious side effects.

Dozens of Gardasil HPV vaccine lawsuits now allege that Merck ignored evidence that the HPV vaccine may cause autoimmune disorders, neurological side effects and other complications. Plaintiffs claim that Merck failed to adequately research the product before aggressively marketing it for use among children nationwide, and withheld important safety information from families and the medical community.

In its latest advertising campaign, Merck never mentions Gardasil by product name, but instead shows parents with young “tweens” and talks about them growing up and how its not too early to inquire about getting an HPV vaccine. Gardasil is the only HPV vaccine approved for use in the United States.

The HPV vaccine advertisement began running in April, and encourages the injection for children as young as nine years old. While Gardasil 9, the current version of the vaccine, is approved for children as young as nine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the vaccine be given between the ages of 11 and 12.

Gardasil Side Effects

Since its introduction, concerns about Gardasil vaccination problems emerged after one of the lead researchers responsible for developing the HPV vaccine, Dr. Diane Harper, indicated that the drug’s protection may only last a few years, suggesting that the risks may outweigh the benefits.

Dr. Harper reportedly said at a conference in 2009, that while Gardasil was tested on 15 year old girls, it is commonly being given to girls as young as nine years old. She has called for more detailed warnings to parents about the Gardasil risks and to provide additional information about the unknown long-term benefits for girls who are not likely to be sexually active for several years.

Studies have shown Gardasil contains a number of ingredients which are known to sometimes cause problems with the autoimmune system, including Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxyphosphate Sulfate (AAHS) and HPV LI-DNA fragments.

Critics claim Merck failed to adequately disclose the presence of these ingredients, and also claim Merck used them in the placebos given to “control” test subjects during clinical trials, leading to an inaccurate assessment of Gardasil side effects.

As a result, teens and young adults throughout the United States are now pursuing Gardasil POTS lawsuits against Merck, indicating that they were left with autoimmune disorders and severe pain and injuries after receiving the HPV vaccine injections, including potentially life-threatening autoimmune disorders and cancers.