From The Journal of Family Practice | 2019;68(10):E1-E7.
References
Know how to address parents’ concerns about safety
Be prepared to discuss and answer parents’ questions or concerns regarding any vaccine, especially the HPV vaccine. Social networks are important in parents’ vaccination decision-making,49 and they may seek information from such sources as Twitter, Facebook, Google, and YouTube, where misinformation may be disseminated. A quantitative analysis of 560 YouTube videos relaying a false link between vaccines and autism or other serious adverse effects on children were uploaded between December 2007 and July 2017, with a peak of 224 videos uploaded in the first 7 months of 2017.50 Most were negative in tone and dispensed misinformation.50
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is an organization that takes a skeptical view of the US government and pharmaceutical companies. NVIC is widely criticized by scientists and leaders in vaccine science and public health as spreading false information on the risks of vaccines and, specifically, that HPV vaccination causes chronic disease. NVIC reports that receipt of HPV vaccine may increase the risk for cervical cancer and death.51 Pediatrician and vaccine researcher Dr. Paul Offit, interviewed by The Lancet in response to NVIC and other anti-vaccine groups’ messages, stated: “anti-vaccination organizations are unequivocally threatening public health.”52
Describe the robust safety-monitoring system.The CDC is aware of public concern about the safety of HPV vaccine. Ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety and studies conducted by the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other organizations has documented a reassuring safety record since the vaccine’s introduction in 2006.53 Assure parents that the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) summary of 7244 reports following 9vHPV vaccination (December 1, 2014 – December 31, 2017) showed that most (97%) reports were nonserious: No new safety signals or unexpected patterns were observed, confirming consistency of the safety profile of 9vHPV with data from pre-licensure trials and post-licensure data on 4vHPV.54
Acknowledge the usually mild, transient potential risks of HPV vaccination as reported to VAERS: local injection site symptoms such as pain, redness, or swelling in the arm where the injection was given (most common adverse effect), dizziness, fainting, headache, nausea, and fever.53 Point out that fainting after vaccination is common in adolescents55 and that the CDC and ACIP recommend observation of adolescents for 15 minutes following HPV vaccination.56 Consider this 15-minute observation period after adolescent receipt of any vaccine to be part of standard practice in your vaccination setting.56
Contest unfounded views. Other common parental concerns about effects of HPV vaccine include supposed promotion of promiscuity, increased incidence of premature ovarian failure or insufficiency (POI), and increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), often propagated through published reports, media coverage, Web sites, and social media. Assure worried parents that many studies have shown that receipt of the vaccine is safe and does not lead to initiation of sexual activity or promiscuity, and, in fact, safer sexual health practices have been observed following vaccination.57-59