Since its approval, Merck has claimed that Gardasil is practically side effect free with pain at the injection site being the most common complaint. However, a 2007 Judicial Watch analysis of the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has revealed that Gardasil has not been as side effect free as claimed. Oddly, Judicial Watch was only able to obtain the FDA’s reports on Gardasil after a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency.