In response to ongoing reports of adverse events associated with the HPV vaccine, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control reviewed side effect reports and today issued a statement indicating Gardasil continues to be safe and effective, and its benefits continue to outweigh its risks.

The joint agency review found 94 percent of side effects reported after vaccination were not serious, and these reports included syncope (fainting), pain at the injection site, headache, nausea and fever. Fainting is common after injections and vaccinations, especially in adolescents, the agencies noted.

There were also 20 deaths reported, but no common pattern that would suggest these were caused by the vaccine. In cases where autopsy, death certificate and medical records were available, the cause of death was explained by factors other than the vaccine, according to the statement.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder causing muscle weakness, was also reported, but the agencies say there is no evidence Gardasil increased the rate of GBS above what is expected in the population. “While we continue to carefully analyze all reports of GBS submitted to VAERS, the data do not currently suggest an association between Gardasil and GBS,” the agencies stated.

Judicial Watch, which bills itself as a conservative public interest group that “advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation’s public life,” twice last year released FDA side effect reports showing an increase in adverse events attributed to Merck’s HPV vaccine.

Gardasil has been controversial from the start over concerns by some conservative groups that the vaccine, which is marketed as a prevention against cervical cancer, will be construed by teenagers as a green light for premarital sex. It was approved for use in girls and women 9 through 26 years of age.