HPV vaccine, neurological injuries and deaths - Vigiaccess and VAERS databases investigation and situation in the State of Acre, Brazil

About this talk

Dr. Serra studied cases of HPV-vaccine injured teenagers from Acre, a brazilian State. She will present the results of her extensive clinical investigation (focusing on objective laboratory and imaging alterations) and a review of the medical literature on adverse events with an emphasis on neurological conditions and deaths from the anti-Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine according to the data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) VigiAccess database and VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) as an instrument for causal link building.

The subject discussed is of extreme relevance and international interest. A proper understanding demands awareness about the context: in matter of vaccines, it´s very difficult to go back. "Going back" may trigger a confidence crisis in immunization policies around the globe. It could also lead to a civil liability tsunami capable of shaking a country's economy. Nevertheless, this should not be a reason to suppress the debate; It could never justify an undue exposure of a young generation to unnecessary risks just to avoid the wear and tear that may result from the recognition that wrong decisions have been taken in the past regarding a particular vaccine.

The difficulty towards this issue is also due to some medical associations that, in addition to the potential conflict of interests, represent thousands of doctors who trusted the selected literature massively released by the manufacturers and, inadvertently, assured “as safe” a risky product for their patients. On the other hand, the economic, institutional and even political interests involved (including within the scope of international politics) are enormous and thus prevent a balanced discussion about this topic.