A look at whether the benefits of a cervical cancer vaccine outweigh the risks.
British health officials temporarily suspended a vaccination program in an English city Tuesday after a 14-year-old girl died a few hours after being vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer.
Natalie Morton died in a hospital Monday, a few hours after being the given the Cervarix vaccine, which protects against two strains of the human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer.
There are no indications of any link between Morton's death and the vaccine — administered at her school in Coventry — although Morton appeared to be healthy before being given the shot. An autopsy will be carried out to determine a cause of death.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed a decision on whether to approve Cervarix. A decision on the vaccine was expected Tuesday. But GlaxoSmithKline UK, which manufactures Cervarix, said the death in Britain did not influence the FDA's decision to extend its review.
The National Health Service in Coventry said it stopped the vaccination program for two days to give staff administering the vaccine training in how to answer questions from anyone concerned about its safety.
"We fully expect to resume the program in the coming days," the health authority said in a statement.
Morton fell ill at the school and later died, according to Caron Grainger, the director for public health at Coventry City Council. The vaccine consists of three injections given over a six-month period, and it had been Morton's first shot. The council declined to give any further details of the death.
Health officials also said they quarantined the batch of vaccine given at the school. The school principal, Julie Roberts, said a few other girls also reported being unwell after receiving the vaccine and some were sent home.
The state-run National Health Service began offering the Cervarix vaccine to teenage girls last year, and more than 1.4 million doses of the vaccine have been given out so far under the program. The virus is often transmitted through sexual intercourse and authorities wanted to give the vaccine to girls as young as 13 so they are protected by the time they become sexually active.
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