HPV vaccine - advice for allergic individuals

Advice for those with latex allergy

The tip cap and the rubber plunger of Cervarix®, the new HPV vaccine, may contain around 10 per cent dry natural latex rubber.

This may make it unsuitable for anyone with a severe latex allergy. These individuals should refer to their GPs to discuss the possibility of being given a latex-free alternative.

Cervarix is manufactured by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline).
Merck Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) manufacture Gardasil - a latex-free alternative.

General Information

We would like to direct allergic individuals to the summary of product characteristics on the GlaxoSmithKline/Cervarix website:

http://www.cervarix.co.uk/pdf/product_character.pdf   

Pleae note the “contraindications” and “special precautions”, in particular the statement “As with all injectable vaccines, appropriate medical treatment and supervision should always be readily available in case of a rare anaphylactic event following the administration of the vaccine.”

Whoever administers the vaccine should be made aware of any existing allergies.