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The Gardasil vaccine offers no meaningful protection beyond regular cervical cancer screening, and its risks “clearly outweigh” its benefits, vaccine scientist Lucija Tomljenović, Ph.D., told Children’s Health Defense (CHD) CEO Mary Holland this week on CHD.TV.
Tomljenović said Gardasil — the only human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine currently available in the U.S. — doesn’t prevent cervical cancer, but routine screening for cervical cancer does prevent deaths.
Even if the vaccine offered some protection against cancer, she said, it hasn’t been shown to improve on what screening programs have achieved.
“It’s just a fantasy scenario,” Tomljenović said of the idea that Gardasil offers any real benefits.
Yet U.S. health officials continue to recommend HPV vaccination, despite mounting safety reviews fueling debate over the shot.
Merck, Gardasil’s manufacturer, recently agreed to pay $50 million to resolve more than 200 lawsuits over alleged vaccine injuries. The company is also developing an investigational HPV vaccine designed to target additional high-risk virus strains.
Tomljenović, who served as an expert witness in Gardasil litigation, said the latest developments have done little to resolve longstanding concerns.
“It’s just the same old story that kind of gets reinforced,” she said. “The main problem with Gardasil is that it’s neither effective as claimed nor safe.”
Holland echoed her concerns. “Until the COVID shots came on the market, the HPV vaccine was by far and away the most dangerous,” she said.
‘The whole propaganda just stinks’
Gardasil targets seven of the 14 HPV types classified as high-risk for cancer.
However, “the clinical trial data, and even the epidemiological studies, do not show that it actually does prevent cervical cancer,” Tomljenović said.
Even if the vaccine offered some protection against cancer risk, “the key question is, can it improve on what has already been achieved through regular screening programs?” she asked. “The answer is no.”
Tomljenović pointed to several reasons the vaccine isn’t beneficial for women already getting routine screenings:
- Limited coverage: Gardasil doesn’t target every high-risk HPV type associated with cervical cancer.
- No treatment for existing disease: The vaccine can’t treat an existing HPV infection, precancerous lesions or cancer.
- No protection against HPV-negative cancers: The vaccine can’t prevent cervical, anal, penile or vulvar cancers that do not involve HPV.
- Concerns about contraceptive use: Tomljenović cited research suggesting HPV vaccination may increase cervical cancer risk among women who use oral contraceptives long-term.
Routine Pap tests detect changes in cervical cells that can be monitored or treated before they develop into cancer. Screening and regular gynecological exams have helped keep cervical cancer mortality low in developed countries, Tomljenović said. She cited an annual U.S. death rate of about two per 100,000 women.
Tomljenović argued that for vaccination to eliminate those deaths, Gardasil would need to protect against all relevant cancers, including those not caused by HPV.
“You don’t really have to be a Ph.D. scientist to see that the whole propaganda just stinks,” she said.
Holland: Merck ‘had data’ to analyze, but ‘chose not to’
During the Gardasil litigation, Tomljenović said she analyzed adverse-event reports and identified significant safety signals for conditions including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a disorder affecting the autonomic nervous system, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
She said Merck’s own pharmacovigilance experts — specialists who monitor and analyze potential drug and vaccine safety problems — confirmed some of the signals.
“They had data that they’ve analyzed, and they showed highly, highly significant signals of disproportionate reporting for things like POTS and chronic fatigue syndrome and a host of other conditions,” Tomljenović said. “But, you know, they don’t publicize these things. It’s only thanks to this litigation that we were able to get hold of these data.”
Holland questioned whether vaccine manufacturers and health agencies adequately investigated such signals, comparing the situation to COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring.
“Their pharmacovigilance … was questionable,” she said. “Much like what we’ve seen in the COVID episode, that they sort of had data that they could have been analyzing, but they chose not to.”
Tomljenović said other reported side effects associated with Gardasil include arthritis, lupus and other autoimmune disorders, multiple sclerosis and gynecological problems, including menstrual disorders and infertility.
“These are also the adverse events that we see with COVID shots,” she said.
She noted that people with long COVID can experience symptoms resembling chronic fatigue syndrome and POTS. “So again, these are similar types of adverse reactions that we see with Gardasil.”
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‘Adolescents do not die from cervical cancer’
Tomljenović criticized President Donald Trump’s Aug. 10 executive order revising federal childhood vaccine recommendations. Although the changes reduced the number of routinely recommended vaccines, HPV vaccination remained on the list.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invited public comments on the revised recommendations. Tomljenović said she and other critics submitted objections to retaining HPV vaccination as a routine recommendation.
“The risks here clearly outweigh the benefits,” she said. “Adolescents do not die from cervical cancer. … But there’s been a number of adolescents who died as a result of an HPV vaccine.”
Tomljenović pointed to Christina Tarsell, who died in 2008 after receiving Gardasil. Tarsell’s family received compensation through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Meanwhile, Merck is testing an investigational vaccine, V540B, designed to expand coverage to additional high-risk HPV types.
Tomljenović vowed to continue challenging the vaccine’s use. “My motto is that you lose only when you quit,” she said. “I’m not quitting.”
Watch Tomljenović on ‘Good Morning CHD’ here:
Related articles in The Defender
- Woman Confined to Wheelchair Settles With Merck Over HPV Vaccine Lawsuit
- New Study Strongly Links Merck’s Gardasil HPV Vaccine to POTS, but Authors Downplay Signal
- Consultants Push HPV Vaccines for Infants, as Merck Tests Gardasil in Kids as Young as 4
- Expert Guts Claims That HPV Vaccine Reduces Cancer Risk
- Experts Weigh in on CDC’s New HPV Vaccine Recommendation
