The National Immunisation Office has received some enquiries from parents regarding HPV vaccine and chronic fatigue.
It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 to 12,000 individuals in Ireland with chronic fatigue syndrome like conditions, with 400 to 800 new cases occurring in adolescent boys and girls each year.
No regulatory authority in any country worldwide has reported there is evidence of a link between HPV vaccine and chronic fatigue like conditions. However the condition is more common in females than males and can occur around puberty, which is also the time the HPV vaccine and other adolescent vaccines are given.
Over the past few years several studies from different countries have found no evidence of a link between the HPV vaccine and chronic fatigue like conditions. This also includes a review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
The following research has been published showing no link:
- In September 2019 the American Autonomic Society advised that there are no data to support a causal relationship between HPV vaccination and chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS,) chronic fatigue, and postural tachycardia syndrome to other forms of dysautonomia.
Advising certain conditions are prevalent in the same populations that are vaccinated with the HPV vaccine (peri-pubertal males and females). This association, however, is an insufficient proof of causality.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and autonomic disorders: a position statement from the American Autonomic Society https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-019-00608-w
- In October 2018 Dutch research showed no causal link between the HPV vaccine and chronic fatigue symptoms in girls.
Current findings of epidemiological research in the Netherlands correspond with the results of previous international studies.
“No evidence found for an increased risk of long-term fatigue following human papillomavirus vaccination of adolescent girls”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X18312684
- In October 2017 a Norwegian study aimed to ascertain if any association existed between HPV vaccination and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Over 176,000 girls who were eligible for HPV vaccination were included in the study.
No indication of increased risk of CFS/ME following HPV vaccination was observed among girls who were vaccinated. HPV vaccination and risk of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: A nationwide register-based study from Norway.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X17308083
- In January 2016 the EMA issued a final report on the review of HPV vaccines. This report found no evidence the vaccine was linked to chronic fatigue like conditions.
Please see link for full details at https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/review-concludes-evidence-does-not-support-hpv-vaccines-cause-crps-pots
The European Commission endorsed the conclusion of the EMA.
- In 2013 the UK medicines’ regulatory authority, the MHRA conducted a large study in the UK which showed no link between HPV vaccines and illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, see information at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24001935
This page was added on 31 December 2019
