Is the HPV vaccine safe?
Here is what the checked sources say. Each title links to the original.
Prophylactic vaccination against human papillomaviruses to prevent cervical cancer and its precursors
Reviewed 26 randomized trials with 73,428 girls and women; controls got a placebo (vaccine adjuvant) or another vaccine. Serious adverse events from any cause occurred at similar rates with vaccine and control (656 vs 669 per 10,000; high certainty), and miscarriage did not rise. Deaths were few: 14 vaccine vs 11 control per 10,000 (low certainty, could be chance), more among vaccinated women over 25; the review judged none vaccine-related. In HPV-negative women 15 to 26, CIN2+ precancer fell from 164 to 2 per 10,000. All but one trial were maker-funded; two authors had maker travel grants until 2008.
Autoimmune, neurological, and venous thromboembolic adverse events after immunisation of adolescent girls with quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in Denmark and Sweden: cohort study
Followed 997,585 girls aged 10 to 17 in Denmark and Sweden, 296,826 of whom received 696,420 HPV vaccine doses, and checked 53 serious autoimmune, neurological and blood-clot conditions. Three autoimmune conditions showed early statistical associations, but on closer analysis these were weak and not timed to vaccination. The study found no evidence linking the vaccine to autoimmune, neurological or blood-clot events. Two authors have had grants from HPV vaccine makers for other studies.
Near Real-Time Surveillance to Assess the Safety of the 9-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine
Monitored 838,991 doses of the current 9-valent HPV vaccine given to 9- to 26-year- olds at six US health systems from 2015 to 2017, checking weekly for anaphylaxis, allergic reactions, Guillain-Barre syndrome, seizures, stroke, fainting, blood clots and other prespecified events. Four early statistical signals appeared, but none was confirmed after medical record review and further analysis. For the outcomes monitored over those two years, no new safety concerns were identified. One author reports research support from Merck, the vaccine's maker, including for another safety study of it.
Human Papillomavirus: The Disease & Vaccine
A parent-friendly CHOP page. CHOP says the only known side effects are mild, such as pain, redness or swelling where the shot was given or low fever, and lists allergic reaction at about 1 in a million recipients. More than 100 million US doses have been given. It summarizes studies finding no cause-effect link to blood clots, strokes, seizures, Guillain-Barre syndrome, infertility, chronic fatigue or POTS. For POTS it cites reports to VAERS, a passive reporting system: about one report per 6.5 million US doses distributed, a reporting rate rather than an incidence rate.
Human papillomavirus vaccination and risk of autoimmune diseases: A large cohort study of over 2million young girls in France
France's medicines agency and national health insurer followed 2,252,716 girls aged 13 to 16, 37% of whom got HPV vaccine, for about 33 months and checked 14 autoimmune diseases. Rates were not higher after vaccination, with one exception: Guillain-Barré syndrome, 1.4 versus 0.4 cases per 100,000 person-years (20 vs 23 cases). If causal, that is 1 to 2 extra cases per 100,000 girls vaccinated. The authors called the results reassuring but said the GBS finding needs confirming.