July 28, 2016
Patients suffering severe health damage from a vaccination against cervical cancer on July 27 simultaneously filed damage suits against the state and two manufacturers of cervical cancer vaccines with district courts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
The two drug makers are British-based GlaxoSmithKline and MSD K.K., U.S.-based Merck’s Japanese subsidiary.
The plaintiffs are 63 women aged 15 to 22 living in 23 prefectures. They demand compensation of 15 million yen each and seek additional compensation in accordance with the severity of the side effects experienced by each plaintiff. This is the first class action lawsuit over the vaccines.
The vaccines were developed against human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. The use of the vaccine was approved in Japan in 2009. The government in 2010 decided to promote the HPV vaccination and began subsidizing the vaccination. However, receiving a number of reports that the HPV vaccine seems to have caused severe side effects such as chronic pain, the government in 2013 suspended the promotion measures.
The plaintiffs argue that since being inoculated against HPV, they have been suffering chronic pain as well as sensory, locomotion, and memory problems, and causing them to have difficulties in their daily lives and have had to change their daily routines as well as revise their future plans.
After filing a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, the plaintiffs held a press conference in Tokyo. A 21-year-old female plaintiff living in Saitama said that due to the HPV vaccination she received five years ago, she has been suffering from various side effects. She explained that she consulted doctors at more than 20 hospitals, was hospitalized 24 times, and now uses a wheelchair to get about. She stressed, “I want a support system so that I will be able to live independently in the future.”
The two drug makers are British-based GlaxoSmithKline and MSD K.K., U.S.-based Merck’s Japanese subsidiary.
The plaintiffs are 63 women aged 15 to 22 living in 23 prefectures. They demand compensation of 15 million yen each and seek additional compensation in accordance with the severity of the side effects experienced by each plaintiff. This is the first class action lawsuit over the vaccines.
The vaccines were developed against human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. The use of the vaccine was approved in Japan in 2009. The government in 2010 decided to promote the HPV vaccination and began subsidizing the vaccination. However, receiving a number of reports that the HPV vaccine seems to have caused severe side effects such as chronic pain, the government in 2013 suspended the promotion measures.
The plaintiffs argue that since being inoculated against HPV, they have been suffering chronic pain as well as sensory, locomotion, and memory problems, and causing them to have difficulties in their daily lives and have had to change their daily routines as well as revise their future plans.
After filing a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, the plaintiffs held a press conference in Tokyo. A 21-year-old female plaintiff living in Saitama said that due to the HPV vaccination she received five years ago, she has been suffering from various side effects. She explained that she consulted doctors at more than 20 hospitals, was hospitalized 24 times, and now uses a wheelchair to get about. She stressed, “I want a support system so that I will be able to live independently in the future.”
