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Health officials in New Zealand are standing by the safety of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil after reports almost 500 in Australia have had adverse reactions since it became widely distributed there this year.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that 496 have had adverse reactions to the vaccine, including seizures and numbness. Of those, 468 listed the vaccine as the sole suspected cause. It was, however, not clear how many of those adverse reactions were serious.
The report also mentioned links between the vaccine and seven deaths in the US.
Medicines regulator Medsafe said in a statement that it remained confident of the vaccine's safety and efficacy.
"Gardasil has been deemed safe for use in more than 70 countries, including Australia, the United States, the 27 countries of the European Union, Mexico, Taiwan, Brazil and Canada."
The vaccine is not yet publicly available in New Zealand, but Prime Minister Helen Clark signalled last month that public funding for it may be fast-tracked following the British Government's decision to go ahead with it.
It is unclear how many doses have been purchased privately in New Zealand.
The Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring based at Otago University has received three adverse reactions to date.
Its director, Dr Michael Tatley, said all were minor, ranging from dizziness to swelling or pain at the injection site.
Dr Nikki Turner, director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre, said most of the reported adverse reactions in Australia would be minor.
She said people should not be too concerned as large amounts of data from America and Europe vouch for the vaccine's safety.
