HPV Vaccination Does Little to Promote the Common Good

If the HPV vaccine were risk-free and cost nothing, it would make sense to provide women and girls with the extra protection the vaccine provides, but the vaccine is neither risk- nor cost-free.

The Hazards Outweigh the Benefits. There is no evidence at this time that the HPV vaccine causes more dangerous side effects than the average vaccine, but the number of serious adverse events is still high enough to warrant thinking twice before vaccinating oneself or a child. In light of the CDC’s data on serious adverse effects of the vaccine, a 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that vaccinating every American girl between the ages of 11 and 26 would prevent 217 cervical cancer deaths, but there would also be approximately 77 deaths related to the vaccination itself and 1,698 non-fatal serious side-effects.* Such side-effects include Guillain-Barre Syndrome (in which the immune system attacks the nervous system and can cause weakness or paralysis), Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (a life-threatening allergic reaction), blood clots, seizures, and dizziness resulting in falls with trauma. The risk of one of these 1,775 deaths or serious adverse reactions is roughly eight times greater than that of death from cervical cancer, and parents (or young women old enough to choose for themselves) could reasonably choose to avoid these risks, especially since cervical cancer is “almost entirely preventable” by safer means.


The Costs Outweigh the Benefits. At a cost of $360 per person for the initial set of vaccinations believed to create immunity and an anticipated need for additional boosters, the HPV vaccine is one of the most expensive vaccinations in history. No wonder Merck is eager to sell the vaccine in the U.S. rather than in developing countries where the vaccine would potentially be useful -- 80 percent of all cervical cancer deaths occur in developing countries where testing programs are few and far between. If individuals wish to be vaccinated or have their children vaccinated despite the risks and lack of benefits, that certainly is a choice they should have, but whether the billions being spent on educational campaigns supporting HPV vaccination is a wise expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars is another question. The high risk-benefit ratio of HPV vaccination makes public health policies that encourage such superfluous vaccinations a waste of community resources.