Fact Check: Claims that HPV vaccine killed girls in India misrepresent 2011 government findings

Hyderabad: On February 24, India announced plans to launch HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccination for girls aged 14. Following this announcement, multiple social media users resurfaced claims from 2009-2010 alleging that HPV vaccine trials killed girls in united Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

With the same claim, Dr Manigreeva Krishnatreya posted on X: “Bill Gates used India as a laboratory for experiments. #HPV #vaccine trial by Gates’ Foundation to 42,000 girls in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in 2009 claimed the lives of 4 Indian schoolgirls in one District alone.”

Another user on X claimed: “In 2009, HPV vaccine trials were conducted on tribal girls in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat by PATH and the Gates Foundation. Deaths were reported, side effects were ignored... now in the Epstein files, there are STDs and affairs. This is the king of double standards!” (Translated from Hindi)

A user named Dee posted: “In 2009, five children died in Khammam district in Telangana after the administration of the HPV vaccine. Many others suffered short- and long-term side effects. Now @ncbn invites the same Bill Gates to continue his experiments on Indian children #BillGates_QuitIndia.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that these claims misrepresent the findings of a government report in 2011, following the deaths.

The inquiry committee concluded that seven deaths reported among vaccine recipients were ‘most probably unrelated to the vaccine,’ with several having confirmed alternative causes including poisoning, drowning, snake bite and malaria.

What is the cause behind the deaths in AP?

In 2009, the Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat governments, in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and PATH (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health), launched a demonstration project for HPV vaccination.

According to Sama - Resource Group of Women and Health, which conducted a fact-finding investigation in March 2010, “In 2009, the Andhra Pradesh Minister for Health and Family Welfare in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and PATH (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health) International, a non-profit organisation based in USA, launched what it described as a ‘demonstration project’ for vaccination against cervical cancer.”

The project administered the Gardasil vaccine to 14,000 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 in three mandals of Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh. In Gujarat, the Cervarix vaccine was administered to 16,000 girls in three blocks of Vadodara district, according to Sama’s findings.

“There were reports of deaths of four girls from Andhra Pradesh and two girls from Gujarat following the administration of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Sama, along with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and Anthra, conducted a fact-finding in March 2010 in Bhadrachalam, one of the areas in Andhra Pradesh, where the HPV vaccine was being administered,” Sama reported.

What did the government inquiry find?

Following the deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare constituted an enquiry committee on April 15, 2010. The committee submitted its final report on February 15, 2011.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) findings in the report, “A total of 7 deaths have been reported, 5 from Khammam in AP and 2 from Vadodra in Gujarat, amongst all those who received the HPV vaccine (14,091 in Khammam and 10,686 in Vadodra).”

The committee said it examined each death in detail.

The ICMR finding stated, “In two cases, there was a history of consumption of poison in Khammam, AP (44 days after the first injection in one case and 100 days after the second injection in the second case). The death has occurred within 3 and 5 hours after the onset of symptoms. In both cases autopsy was done. Chemical examination of the viscera (stomach) confirmed the presence of poison in both cases.”

“In one case, there was a history of accidental drowning in the pond (48 days after the first injection). No autopsy was done in this case,” the ICMR finding noted.

Regarding the Gujarat deaths, the ICMR finding stated, “In Gujarat, 2 deaths have occurred, one after 19 days and the other after 21 days of the second injection. One of these cases is reported to have haemoglobin of 4gm% and was positive for P.vivax. Both died within a day from the onset of symptoms. No autopsy or other investigations were done in these cases. Their cause of death remains uncertain.”

The committee concluded in its report that there is no common pattern among the deaths.

“After reviewing all seven deaths (five deaths from AP in the Gardasil group and two deaths in Gujarat from Cervarix group), it has been observed that there is no common pattern to the deaths that would suggest they were caused by the vaccine. In cases where there was an autopsy, death certificate, or medical records, the cause of death could be explained by factors other than the vaccine,” the ICMR finding stated.

The ICMR finding also noted: “The background death rates among girls 10-14 years of age in both Barodara and Khammam districts did not show any increased rate. In fact, in Badodara district, the death rate has significantly decreased in 2009 compared to the past years.”

Consent and ethical issues

While the inquiry found deaths were ‘unrelated’ to the vaccine, both Sama and the ICMR committee identified serious ethical concerns about how the study was conducted.

Sama’s investigation revealed troubling consent procedures: “The majority of the vaccinated girls in Bhadrachalam were residents of ashram paathshalas (boarding schools). The selection of these girls for the project is striking, given that their parents, living separately, cannot monitor and respond to any adverse developments in their children’s health. Moreover, this has allowed providers to conveniently side-step the provision of parental consent,” Sama reported.

“In many instances, the wardens of the residential schools and hostels were asked to provide consent or permission for vaccination, while parents were not informed. The very nature of this project appears to be in violation of all ethical norms as a warden, whether a legal guardian or not, be allowed to provide consent for hundreds of children without consulting their parents, who are their natural guardians,” Sama stated.

The ICMR finding confirmed these concerns: “The legality and morality of the circular of the Government of Andhra Pradesh authorising the Hostel Wardens and Head Masters to sign the consent on behalf of the minor girls included in the study is questionable.”

Sama also found inadequate informed consent: “Selected girls were given HPV Immunisation Cards, which were in English — a language that neither the girls nor their parents were familiar with. Further, all involved (the wardens, teachers and students) believed the project to be part of the public immunisation program, and had no idea that they were in fact, part of a research study.”

Monitoring adverse events

Sama reported ongoing health issues: “Many of the vaccinated girls continue to suffer from stomachaches, headaches, giddiness and exhaustion. There have been reports of early onset of menstruation, heavy bleeding and severe menstrual cramps, extreme mood swings, irritability and uneasiness following the vaccination. No systematic follow-up or monitoring has been carried out by the vaccine providers.”

The ICMR finding identified this as a major deficiency: “Second major deficiency of the study was total reliance on the State AEFI programme to measure four of the five Primary outcomes of the study without an independent verification. Gross inadequacy of AEFI programme is shown by the decimal rates of reported AEs even for the local reactions.”

The viral claims that the HPV vaccine killed girls in India in 2009 misrepresent both Sama’s findings and the 2011 government inquiry.

The ICMR committee found that seven deaths among vaccine recipients were ‘most probably unrelated to the vaccine,’ with confirmed alternate causes including poisoning, drowning, malaria, and snake bite. It also mentioned, “However, the cause of death in all the cases cannot be established with certainty.”

However, both Sama and the ICMR identified serious ethical violations regarding consent procedures, particularly the practice of obtaining consent from hostel wardens rather than parents.

Therefore, we conclude that the claim that vaccines killed the girls is misleading, though legitimate concerns about study conduct were documented.