FDA, CDC say Merck's Gardasil shot remains safe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A review of health problems reported after women and girls received Merck & Co's Gardasil vaccine shows it remains safe and effective for protecting against infection with a virus that causes cervical cancer, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

A statement from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a review found 94 percent of problems reported after Gardasil vaccination were not serious.

Twenty deaths were reported as of June 30. "There was not a common pattern to the deaths that would suggest they were caused by the vaccine," the FDA and CDC said in a statement.

Merck has distributed more than 16 million Gardasil doses in the United States, the agencies said.

Consumers, parents, doctors and others have raised questions about Gardasil's safety, the agencies said. Gardasil targets four strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common type of sexually transmitted virus that causes genital warts and most cases of cervical cancer.

"Based on the review of available information by FDA and CDC, Gardasil continues to be safe and effective, and its benefits continue to outweigh its risks," the agencies said.