Human papillomavirus vaccine - lower risk, higher benefit.

Sir,

A survey by Oluwole et al. revealed that there are poor knowledge and very low uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among the female undergraduate students in Lagos, Nigeria despite having a positive attitude. The authors concluded that awareness programs need to be implemented to increase the knowledge which would ultimately increase vaccine acceptance.[1]

WHO has cleared the HPV vaccine as an “extremely safe” one.[2] Many of the countries have included the HPV vaccine in their national immunization schedule.[3] However, there are some adverse effects associated with the HPV vaccination, especially reported from Japan and Colombia.[4] Authors could include that in their article so the readers would have an idea about both benefits and risks of the vaccine. The common side effects of HVP vaccine include pain, erythema, swelling on the site of injection, fever, headache, tiredness, nausea, muscle or joint pain. Rarely, syncope (fainting) is seen which can also occur with other medical procedures. And very rarely, anaphylactic reaction may occur.[5] Ethically, both the benefit and the risk should be declared to the recipient before administration of the vaccine. Primary care physicians should inform the recipients about the minor and major side effects and benefit of the vaccine, and should only administer the vaccine after taking consent, preferably written consent. If it is not done and vaccine is promoted only with the benefit, people may end up with negative attitude from reading some rare instances of adverse effects prevalent on the internet [Figure 1].

Figure 1

Vaccine hesitancy may develop from the posts in social media and on the internet highlighting the rare adverse effects

Vaccine hesitancy is a global problem and it is influenced by electronic and print media. In the said study, more than one-fourth participants agreed that the HPV vaccine may have a negative effect on them.[1] Hence, in further study, the cause of such hesitancy is to be addressed and a strategy needs to be planned to minimize the hesitancy and to increase the acceptance.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.