(CNN) -- A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer is coming under fresh scrutiny amid thousands of complaints linking it to a range of health problems.


Gardasil's manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., says it has distributed more than 26 million vaccines worldwide.

Gardasil has been the subject of 7,802 "adverse event" reports from the time the Food and Drug Administration approved its use two years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis -- even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed, but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine. The CDC says it continues to study the reports of illness.

Gardasil prevents the spread of human papillomavirus, known as HPV -- a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer in a relatively small number of girls and women.

The vaccine's manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., says it has distributed more than 26 million Gardasil vaccines worldwide, including nearly 16 million in the United States. It estimates that 8 million girls and women have received the vaccine in the United States since June 2006. Watch more on complications linked to Gardasil »

Two girls allege in court that the vaccine made them sick.

One -- Jesalee Parsons of Broken Bow, Oklahoma -- got the shot at age 13.

Jesalee's lawyer, Michael McLaren, said she got the shot on February 27, 2007 and soon developed a fever and felt pain. The next day, he said, Jesalee felt pain in her chest and abdomen.

Her mother, Laura Parsons, said Jesalee spent weeks in the hospital and underwent two surgeries after developing pancreatitis. She says the federal government should have studied the drug more before approving its use.

"I just feel let down by the government," Parsons said.

Merck says it could be a coincidence that the girls got sick after receiving the vaccine.

The company said in a statement that an adverse event report "does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established -- just that the event occurred after vaccination."

Merck said it would continue to evaluate reports of adverse reactions. It said it "updates product labels with new safety information as appropriate."

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~Karen
Moderator

hmm, I had a feeling this would happen. My girls will not be getting this vaccine anyway, if I can help it. If they want to when they are older, that is their choice... But I have serious reservations about a vaccine that I know little about.

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Kristie M.
SAHM of 5
myspace.com/muskratmorales
wordpress.com/tkmuskrat

Do not rob the poor because he is poor, And oppress not the afflicted at the gate.
For YHWH pleads their cause, And shall plunder those who plunder them. Prov. 22:22-23

I too had reservations about it and even told hubby when I was pregnant (before we knew it was a boy) that this baby would not get this shot! Too many recalls and class action law suits on medications now. I am scared to try anything new.

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~Karen
Moderator

I decided long ago my daughter wouldn't get it. Just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. You vaccinate against epidemics. Gardisil didn't seem to fit that. I'm glad no one tried to pressure me or my daughter to get it.

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I'm a coupon ninja...I swoop in and grab the deals before they even know what hit them!

My daughter got the shot my sister is a doctor and told us about the risks. My daughter is 18 now and one of her best friends that didn't just turned 19 and is fixing to have her second surgery for cervical cancer.I am so glad my daughter is protected ,my husbands family is a high cancer risk so we didn't want to take a chance.And please keep her friend in your prayers.