The teenager was one of four classmates who suffered side-effects at a school in Coventry after receiving the jab as part of the national immunisation programme.
The other girls suffered dizziness and nausea after being injected with Cervarix, which guards against the human papilloma virus (HPV), but did not need hospital treatment. The batch of vaccine has since been quarantined and the Medicines and Health care products Regulatory Agency is investigating.
Dr Caron Grainger, Joint Director of Public Health for NHS Coventry and the city's council, said: “A 14-year-old girl took ill at a school in Coventry and was taken to University Hospital in the city where she later sadly died. Our sympathies are with the girl’s family and friends at this difficult time."
She added that the incident happened shortly after the girl received the vaccine, but "no link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post-mortem takes place."
The HPV virus is a sexually transmitted infection that causes up to seven in 10 cervical cancer cases. If any link were proved between the 14-year-old's death and the jab it is thought it would be the first since the nationwide vaccination commenced last year. The Cervarix vaccine is being distributed to all schoolgirls aged 12 and over as part of the national campaign. By 2011 all girls under 18 will have been offered the jab. Ministers say the scheme will ultimately save 700 lives a year.
Gillian Merron, the Public Health Minister, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family. It is important we have the results of further investigations as soon as possible to established the cause of this sad event."
Earlier this month, the drug safety watchdog MHRA said that thousands of schoolgirls were suffering suspected adverse reactions to the vaccine. Doctors' reports found that girls of 12 and 13 were experiencing convulsions, fever and paralysis. The analysis drawn up by MHRA found that 2,107 patients reported suspected adverse reactions, with several reporting multiple reactions.
Vaccination is not compulsory and consent is required before it is administered to the under-16s.
