About Cervarix
More than 1 in 10 doses may cause pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, headache, aching muscles and muscle weakness, and tiredness.
More than 1 in 100 doses may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, itching, red skin rash, hives, joint pain and high fever.
More than 1 in 1000 doses may cause upper respiratory tract infection, dizziness, a hard lump at the injection site, tingling or numbness.
If the side-effects get serious or you have an affect not mentioned in this leaflet, tell your doctor.
According to a GlaxoSmithKline UK electronic medicines compendium document dated 24 September 2007, subjects in the trial of this product were only monitored for side-effects for 30 days and any occuring after this time were not included in the study.
This vaccine has not been studied to see if it is safe to have during or immediately before pregnancy. It is not known whether the vaccine is excreted in human milk and there have been no studies on its interaction with other drugs (they don’t know whether it is safe to have alongside other medicines).
Cervarix is for use against two types of Human Papillomavirus, thought to cause 70% of sexually transmitted cervical cancers. It will NOT protect you against all types of HPV. Duration of ‘protection’ after vaccination is unknown, but thought to be 5.5 years. So if a 12 year old is vaccinated, it may have worn off by the time she’s 17. The need for booster doses has not been studied.
Ingredients:
Two types of HPV Virus (16 and 18)
AS04 (aluminium salts and monophosphoryl liquid to make you produce antibodies)
Sodium Chloride
sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate
Virus like particles from the Trichoplusia ni insect (the cabbage looper)
Water
People who should not have Cervarix vaccine:
Those who are allergic to the ingredients of the vaccine (allergic reactions include those listed in the side-effects and swelling of the face, difficulty breathing etc.)
Those with a severe infection or high temperature
Special care should be taken if you have a bleeding disorder or any kind of immunosuppression such as HIV or cancer.
If you are taking other medications, the safety of this vaccine has not been evaluated.
If you are sexually active, the safety of this vaccine is not known in unborn babies. If a girl or young woman gets pregnant during a course of injections, these should be stopped.
