Another eight deaths in just the past few months are being connected to Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus and is being considered by many states as mandatory for all schoolgirls, according to documents released by Judicial Watch.

There also have been another 1,824 adverse reactions to the drug, bringing the "known total" of such problems to 3,461, according to the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Tom Fitton, the group's president. "These adverse reactions reports suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even be fatal."

WND previously has reported how Merck was lobbying state lawmakers to require the vaccination, but gave that up after its activities were unveiled. WND also reported when a key researcher into human papillomavirus, which is targeted by Gardasil, reported it needed more testing, and how even the Centers for Disease Control suggested the vaccine should not be mandatory.

The dispute primarily has been over proposed state and other governmental requirements that schoolgirls be vaccinated against an infection transmitted only by sexual contact.

The target of the vaccine is cervical cancer, since studies show that those who have HPV have a higher chance of later developing cervical cancer. However, opponents note that such cancers develop most often in older women, while the plan is to require girls as young as 11 or 12 years old to be inoculated. They cite the lack of evidence that the vaccine would have an impact later in life.

Judicial Watch said it obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the Freedom of Information Act detailing the new 1,824 cases.

Those cases include as many as eight deaths related to the vaccine, on top of the three deaths reported earlier among 1,637 earlier reports of adverse effects.

Among the new information Judicial Watch found:

* "Information has been received ... concerning a 17 year old female who in June 2007 ... was vaccinated with a first dose of Gardasil ... During the evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."

* "Information has been received ... concerning a 12 year old female with a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiency ... who on 01-MAR-2007 was vaccinated IM into the left arm with a first does of Gardasil ... On 01-MAR-2007 the patient presented to the ED with ventricular tachycardia and died."

* "Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician concerning an 'otherwise healthy' 13 year old female who was vaccinated with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient experienced ... paralysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic nerve...At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."

The flood of adverse reactions during 2007 reported to the FDA through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, included 347 serious reactions.

"Of the 77 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 33 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities. Other serious side effects continue to be reported including, paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures," Judicial Watch said.

And these numbers may not even include all the cases, Judicial Watch said. It filed a lawsuit this week against the FDA for failing to fully respond to its requests for information involving the vaccine.

Specifically Judicial Watch wanted access to correspondence between Merck and the FDA regarding the vaccine, communications between the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline, which is working on a similar vaccine, called Cervarix, and reports by consumers, health professionals and others regarding problems with the HPV vaccine.

When the organization's investigation into the HPV vaccine issue arose, and the first reports starting coming in, Fitton described it as "a catalog of horrors."

One earlier report, No. 275438-1, describes the reaction as coronary artery thrombosis, sudden cardiac death. "Given Gardasil vaccine dose #1 3/12/07. Collapsed and died on 3/26/07... Echocardiogram revealed very enlarged right ventricle, small left ventricle as well as large blood clots within both the right atrium & right ventricle."

Another report noted that the woman was vaccinated and "died of a blood clot 8 hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine."

Officials with the Abstinence Clearinghouse noted in a position paper that groups including the Texas Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine have come out publicly against mandatory vaccination.

"The reasoning of these medical associations is clear. They are not opposed to medical progress, and certainly support all efforts to combat life-threatening diseases. The problem, as these organizations see it, lies in the fact that the drug only went through three and a half years of testing, leaving the medical community somewhat in the dark as to what serious adverse effects might result in the long term," the group said.

"Along with the potential of serious adverse effects is the question of efficacy. There is evidence that after approximately four years, the vaccine's potency significantly declines. The long-term value of the vaccine has yet to be determined; if it wears off within six years, will girls and women need to repeat the battery of injections they originally received?" the organization wondered.

Michigan was the first state to introduce a plan to require the vaccine to be given to young girls, but the proposal failed. Ohio also considered a failed plan in 2006.

Then in 2007, after Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign and contributions to Women in Government, lawmakers in at least 39 states and the District of Columbia worked on sponsoring such plans.