HPV vaccine skepticism on the rise among US parents
A recent study in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics reports a significant increase in the number of U.S. parents deciding not to vaccinate their children for Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
The study, published in the June 2023 edition of Pediatrics, shows notable growth in parents' concerns about “safety or side effects” of the vaccine: a 15.6% annual increase from 2010 to 2018 in the number of parents who gave this as their primary reason for rejecting the vaccine. Other reasons given include: "Not necessary,” “safety concerns,” “lack of recommendation,” “lack of knowledge,” and “not sexually active.”
HPV comprises a group of 200 related viruses, and is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. Some strains of HPV can cause other illnesses, such as cervical cancer. In 90% of cases, HPV resolves on its own without harm to the infected person. According to the Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Many women do not know they have HPV, because it usually has no symptoms and usually goes away on its own.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the three-dose HPV vaccination for 11 to 12 year-old boys and girls, but claims that children as young as nine years old can receive it as well.
Yuhong Dong, M.D., Ph.D. and senior medical columnist for The Epoch Times, expresses deep concern and calls for extreme caution regarding use of HPV vaccines in part 1 of her series, “The HPV Vaccine: A Double-Edged Sword?: Undeniable Deaths After HPV Vaccination". Her article details numerous deaths and other adverse events occurring in previously healthy adolescents and young adults following receipt of an HPV vaccine. Dr. Dong emphasizes, “If I were to regard these deaths as ‘not related,’ it would be an irresponsible judgment on my part and a violation of my oath as a medical doctor.”
Some scientists and researchers are baffled at parents' use of critical thinking and caution when it comes to their children's health. The Pediatrics study co-author and assistant scientist at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan Eric Adjei Boakye, PhD comments, “This would have been acceptable around 2006 when the vaccine was new, but now, it is shocking that people still think the vaccine may not be safe."
“Our suspicion is that the rising safety concerns are probably being driven by [the] use of social media and people trying to find vaccine information online,” the study’s lead researcher, Kalyani Sonawane, PhD of UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, Texas adds.
