SYNOPSIS
Discrepancies in how countries define and evaluate difficult-to-diagnose vaccine complications may affect their conclusions about HPV vaccine safety.
TITLE
Discrepancies in the evaluation of the safety of the human papillomavirus vaccine
CITATION
Cervantes JL, Doan AH. Discrepancies in the evaluation of the safety of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Memórias Do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 2018;113(8):e180063.
SUMMARY
Discrepancies in how countries define and evaluate difficult-to-diagnose HPV vaccine complications may affect their conclusions about the vaccine’s safety. Japan and Colombia suspended their HPV vaccine recommendations after encountering a significant number of cases of complications; the fact that some cases were “rare” or “clinically undefined” did not sway their decision. There is a need for unbiased monitoring and reporting of adverse reactions to HPV vaccination “to ensure that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks of adverse reactions.”