A recent case in Britain in which a 12-year-old girl was left paralysed after getting a new anti-cervical cancer vaccination has worried parents in Singapore.
But doctors here said that the jab - given pre-emptively to protect against cervical cancer later - is safe.
British doctors, too, insisted that schoolgirl Ashleigh Cave's paralysis was not caused by the vaccine, which uses an artificial virus to stimulate the body to defend itself against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to cervical cancer.
Since September, the jab has been offered to girls aged 12 and 13 as part of a British government programme. The drug used there was Cervarix.
On Oct 15, Ashleigh went for such a jab and within 30 minutes, was paralysed from the waist down.
In the United States, a similar drug, Gardasil, was introduced over a year ago. Dozens of 'adverse events' were reported there, in which a link to the vaccination was suspected but not proven.
GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Cervarix, said in a statement that Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has reviewed the Oct 15 case and is of the opinion that it is not linked to the vaccine.
Dr Jeffery Low, head of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the National University Hospital, said: 'In clinical trials, there were no noticeable long-term side effects. The vaccines are safe as they went through very stringent clinical trials before they were licensed.'
Associate Professor Tay Eng Hseon, medical director of Thomson Women's Cancer Centre, added: 'As clinicians, we feel more confident about this vaccine as it uses an artificial virus.'
The vaccine works by tricking the body into thinking that it has been infected with the real virus so it will build up an immune response to it.
Gardasil was approved by the Health Sciences Authority for use in Singapore in 2006 and Cervarix in January this year.
But while parents here may - on their own - wish to have their young daughters vaccinated, the Ministry of Health has no plans to introduce a vaccination programme like Britain's.
Some parents here, aware of the British incident, were apprehensive about the vaccine.
Mrs Ann Wong, 53, a civil servant who had her 12-year-old girl vaccinated in October last year, said: 'Had I heard of this case earlier, I might not have given my daughter the vaccine.'
Another parent, Ms Rehanna Khan, 33, a businesswoman with two daughters aged nine and 12, said: 'I would definitely not give it to my children now.'
Mrs Jay Gilbert, 38, a housewife who has a nine-year-old daughter, will not consider the vaccine for her child as it is 'too new'.
Cervical cancer ranks as the sixth most common cancer among Singaporean women. Every year, 200 women here are diagnosed with it.
As of October, less than 1 per cent of females in Singapore have been vaccinated against HPV.
Safety issues apart, its cost may have been a factor in the low take-up rate. Three doses totalling $600 are needed.
'At $200 per dose, it is quite costly. Perhaps I will wait for the price to come down. I don't think the safety of these vaccines is questionable, especially if doctors are advocating it,' said teacher He Peiru, 23.
This story was first published in thesundaytimes on Dec 28, 2008.
