14-year-old schoolgirl dies after being given cervical cancer jab

Natalie Morton, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, has died anon afterwards actuality accustomed the cervical blight vaccine, bidding critics to alarm for the immunisation programme to be suspended.

The jailbait was one of four classmates who suffered side-effects at Blue Coat CofE Academy in Coventry afterwards accepting the jab as allotment of the civic immunisation programme. She was afterwards taken to Coventry's University Hospital area she died during the afternoon.

The added girls suffered blackout and abhorrence afterwards actuality injected with Cervarix, which guards adjoin the animal papilloma virus (HPV), but did not charge hospital treatment. The accumulation of vaccine has back been abandoned and the Medicines and Bloom affliction articles Regulatory Agency is investigating.

Cervical blight vaccine absurd to accept acquired seizures in girls: biologic watchdog

Dr Caron Grainger, Joint Administrator of Public Bloom for NHS Coventry and the city's council, said the adventure happened anon afterwards the babe accustomed the vaccine, but "no articulation can be fabricated amid the afterlife and the vaccine until all the facts are accepted and a post-mortem takes place."

A accolade accumulation on amusing networking armpit Facebook already had abutting to 200 associates aftermost night.

One friend, Suzie Grace Gee, wrote: "What a admirable girl. Consistently had a smile on her face! It's such a shock to everyone, and it's activity to be odd not seeing her every Sunday at church. She will consistently be missed, and my thoughts and prayers are with the family. She's with Jesus now! Rest in peace."

Charmaine Dunn-Myria, 15, who was in the aforementioned year as Natalie, said: "There was agitation about the academy back we begin out what happened. Girls were in tears in the corridors and anybody was in shock.

"I had my jab today as able-bodied and I was absolutely afraid about it and that article was activity to appear to me.

"They never told us that there was any crisis in these jabs. I didn't apperceive you could get ailing or die from them.

"The academy gave anybody a letter cogent us about Natalie and the three added girls. I am aloof absolutely afraid about what will appear to them. I can't accept this has happened."

She added: "I knew Natalie to say accost to in the corridors and she consistently seemed like a absolutely nice girl, I can't accept this has happened and she is gone."

In a letter to parents, Dr Julie Roberts, the school's headteacher said during the immunisation "an adverse adventure occurred and one of the girls suffered a rare, but acute acknowledgment to the vaccine.

"A cardinal of added girls additionally appear actuality unwell and some were beatific home.

"If your babe has accustomed a vaccine today we ask that you are added acute apropos any signs or symptoms."

Natalie Morton


The HPV virus is a sexually transmitted infection that causes up to seven in 10 cervical blight cases. If any articulation were accepted amid the 14-year-old's afterlife and the jab it is anticipation it would be the aboriginal back the civic anesthetic commenced aftermost year.

The Cervarix vaccine is actuality broadcast to all schoolgirls age-old 12 and over as allotment of the civic campaign, which began aftermost year. By 2011 all girls beneath 18 will accept been offered the jab. Ministers say the arrangement will ultimately save 700 lives a year. About 1.4 actor doses accept been administered in Britain so far.

But back April aftermost year the MHRA has accustomed added than 2,000 letters of doubtable reactions to the vaccine, including 409 accompanying to anaphylactic shock, which can be rapidly fatal.

There are two cervical blight vaccines license, Cervarix, fabricated by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, fabricated by Merck.

Many added European countries are application Gardasil because of the added aegis it offers adjoin four strains of HPV instead of two.

Andrew Lansley, the adumbration bloom secretary, said the account was "tragic" and "deeply apropos for all the families involved."

"The Department of Bloom and the MHRA charge to investigate, as a amount of urgency, what the account of this is so they can appraise how boundless the botheration could be", he said.

"With any vaccine allotment of the licensing action is to authorize how safe it is, but it is absurd to aphorism out the achievability that some patients ability ache adverse reactions.

"However, this afresh raises the catechism which we accept asked for some time, as to why the Government won't broadcast the assessments it fabricated of the about claim of the two HPV vaccines and why we accordingly use a altered vaccine to best added commensurable countries."

Jackie Fletcher, the architect of Jabs, a abutment accumulation for vaccine damaged children, alleged for Cervarix jab to be abeyant while an analysis was conducted.

"We accept a bearings area a babe believed to be advantageous joins a queue, is accustomed the HPV vaccine, has a acknowledgment and I accept some of the added girls reacted as well, and again dies this afternoon. Obviously I don't apperceive what this babe has died from, but the actuality she has reacted in such abutting proximity, forth with the added girls, agency this accurate vaccine should be suspended."

Professor Malcolm McCrae, from the University of Warwick's Department of Biological Sciences, told Radio 4's The World Tonight it was "unlikely" the programme would be suspended.

"As with any medical intervention, vaccines are no altered in that faculty that one can on break see adverse consequences, but all-embracing this is an acutely able-bodied activated vaccine which has been produced in acknowledgment to a adequately astringent bloom problem," he said.

Dr Pim Kon, medical administrator at GlaxoSmithKline UK, said: "Our centermost sympathies are with the ancestors and accompany of the adolescent girl.

"We are alive with the Department of Bloom and MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare articles Regulatory Agency) to bigger accept this case, as at this date the exact account of this adverse afterlife is unknown."

The all-around biologic aggregation added that the all-inclusive majority of doubtable adverse reactions accept accompanying either to the affection of recognised ancillary furnishings or were due to the bang action and not the vaccine itself.

Gillian Merron, the Public Bloom Minister, said: "Our centermost sympathies are with the family. It is important we accept the after-effects of added investigations as anon as accessible to accustomed the account of this sad event."