For a man with no immune system, I’m doing alright.
- Bucket list Ben
Mum’s worries over girl’s smear jab
Wednesday 12th August 2009, 6:00PM BST.
The mother of a 13-year-old Shropshire girl struck down by a mystery virus is concerned a cervical smear jab given to her daughter could be connected to her falling ill.
Paige Brennan, of Telford, remains poorly in hospital after she was struck down in March. She is being treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital where her mother, Margaret, said that her condition had improved slightly.
The Thomas Telford School pupil fell ill with encephalitis, a rare brain virus, and NMDA, where her antibodies started attacking her brain.
She was “perfectly normal” until she came home from school with a headache. Within hours she was having seizures and ended up in intensive care, said her mother.
Mrs Brennan, of The Rock, said: “She is slightly better but is still quite poorly. She might be there for Christmas. They said it would be a long time.
“We are still playing a waiting game to see how she comes out of it. She is going in the right direction.”
She added: “I think it was the cervical smear injection. She had that a week before. It’s proving it.”
She said Paige was now out of the critical stage but was still up and down with the teenager sometimes being able to stand up and sometimes not.
Mrs Brennan said Paige, who is being fed through a tube, would now look at them when they spoke whereas before she did not.
She said she wanted to thank everybody who had supported her, her husband, Jim, 48, and Paige’s sister, Chloe, who will be 12 on August 23.
Chris Weiner, consultant in public health at NHS Telford and Wrekin, said: “More than 800,000 doses of Cervarix have now been administered in the UK, with several million doses distributed worldwide.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine carries any long-term side effects. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reviews each individual report of a suspected side effect.
“If parents or young people are worried about the safety of any vaccine they should speak to their GP to discuss concerns, or visit www.immunisation.nhs.uk where they can find more information about all vaccinations routinely given.”
By Lisa Rowley
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the same has happened world wide with HPV vaccines, Gabby Swank in the US is another example of a girl who has suffered serious side effects
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“There is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine carries any long-term side effects” … yet the companies providing the vaccines are given legal protection against being sued in case there side effects. Why do they need legal protection if they are so sure that there are no side effects?
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‘She added: “I think it was the cervical smear injection. She had that a week before. It’s proving it.” ‘
And that’s Science.
Feynman would be proud.
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My greatest sympathies go out to the family of the girl concerned, and it’s natural that they wish to find out what’s causing this in their daughter.
It is not helpful however to run stories like this that promote the idea that get the ranting anti-vaccination lobby going on no evidence whatsoever. The fact she had the HPV jab the week before is frankly unhelpful speculation. These vaccinations are there to prevent nasty diseases that can kill you, but seemingly stories like this that are not based on any evidence do put people off.
A recent example is the newspaper campaign (mainly Daily Mail) against the MMR jab and a link to autism. This is now seen (by anyone with sense anyway) as unremitting rubbish. The GMC has even disciplined the Dr concerned. However, the promotion of anti-vaccinations in the media did genuinely put people at risk.
Please base your decisions on evidence, not newspaper headlines or paranoid speculation.
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@Tom M – theres only one person ranting on here…
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my daughter had her last cervical cancer jab on 16th may she then had her first major seizure on 20th may. she has also been diagnosed with encephalitus. my daughter was in hospital for 8 weeks but then discharged. she has been home for 4 weeks and has got to go to a brain injury unit for 12 weeks. i would love to hear from families who have suffered similar experiences. i would also love to hear from paiges mom, my daughter has just gone 18.
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i am disappointed with what tom m has said i’m sure if it was his daughter or a member of his family he would have a different attitude towards these tragic cases. my heart goes out to these poor families.
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It is sad that yet another young girl has suffered for all these months, directly following this jab. Did you know the side effects are much more common than stated in the original 50,000 printed copies of the NHS document “Beating Cervical Cancer – the facts”? The vaccine is definitely not as safe as people were led to believe – the figures were understated by 10-100 times! The former Health Minister even wrote me a letter apologising that it was an accidental mistake and the NHS eventually altered most of the online versions (the N.Ireland pdf document is still uncorrected). By June-July the NHS sent out some small print in their drug updates to medical professionals advising that they have made some amendments but I don’t think that many people would have noticed it – there was no explanation and no detail, and of course there was so much else to read in that bulletin because of swine flu. Certainly the public have not been alerted of these risks with the HPV vaccine that are much greater than first claimed by the British government.
It looks as if the aluminium in the vaccine could be the reason for the side effects because it is a neurotoxin and some people are very sensitive to it. Scientists at Keele University had warned about its use in mass vaccination programmes last year. Fortunately they have found that silica-rich mineral water is a natural antidote. Lots more information is available on request.
I do hope that Paige gets better very soon.
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I am saddened by yet another serious adverse reaction to Cervarix. Tom M, this young girl took her first seizure only a week after vaccination. Diane Harper, who helped trial Cervarix and Gardasil, is concerned that there are serious side effects and her statement reads “if something serious happens within 42 days of the vaccination then it is more than likely that that is the cause of the illness”. It is obvious Tom that you are just not aware of how many young girls and women are being injured or have died across the world because of the HPV vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil. We are not anti-vaccines but are concerned about bad vaccines which damage young people. Julie Jones, thank you for your note, I have informed Paige’s mum that you would like to get in touch with her. Join Lets Talk About Gardasil which is a group of American moms whose daughters have suffered, I am a member and could make contact with you there. Cervarix has to be investigated for the sake of our young people and please contact your members of parliament and bring the serious side effects to his or her attention. Our best wishes go to the Brennan family and to young Paige in the hope that she recovers quickly from her serious condition.
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