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Fort Wayne Family Leery of Gardasil Vaccine

By Jeff Neumeyer
June 18, 2010 Updated Dec 14, 2009 at 6:47 PM EST FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- The Gardasil vaccine is championed as an excellent way to protect young girls from cervical cancer, but others in the medical community say there are risks. One Fort Wayne family has a personal account that will add to the debate. Homework takes on a different meaning these days for Caleigh Miller. The Snider student has not been able to go to school for more than two months after an onset of non-epileptic seizures. The frightening episodes manifested soon after she received a Gardasil vaccination. Lydia Miller/Mother: " She had symptoms within days. The seizures started within weeks and really that was the only thing that we saw that was different in her life." The drug's maker, Merck, lists seizure-like symptoms as one of a number of possible side effects. Yet it's recommended by several respected medical authorities including the Centers for Disease Control, as a way to protect against genital warts and 70 percent of the cancer-causing strains of the HPV virus. But a government report released this summer linked the vaccine to higher incidences of fainting and blood clots and to 32 unexplained deaths. Jeff Neumeyer: " Allen County's Health Commissioner doesn't dismiss the concerns of the Miller family, but Dr. Deborah McMahan also says it would be a mistake to dismiss the benefits Gardasil brings to the table." Dr. Deborah McMahan/Ft. Wayne-AC Health Commissioner: " You may think, well, getting genital warts is not a big deal, yeah it is, because I treat those people." McMahan points out the drug unquestionably prevents cervical cancer, that there is no real evidence Gardasil was to blame in the unexplained deaths, and she reminds that millions of young women have received the shots with no issues. Dr. McMahan: " Everything has side effects, you can't run away and say I'm not going to do anything, cause you can throw the baby out with the bath water." But that's not good enough for the Millers. Paul Miller/Girl's Father: " Thankfully Caleigh only received the first shot out of three. When we started investigating, we decided that's all she's going to get." Drs. Joseph Muhler II and Lisa Holtsclaw, both of whom practice in Fort Wayne, are not administering Gardasil vaccinations to patients, and won’t until further research can resolve concerns about the drug’s safety. Click here for more information on Gardasil.
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