Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Department of Health written question – answered at on 16 June 2016.

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Photo of Jim Shannon Jim Shannon Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Health), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Transport), Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Equality)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of 18 have died after receiving the HPV vaccination in the last three years.

Photo of George Freeman George Freeman The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects reports of suspected side effects to vaccines and medicines via the Yellow Card Scheme. It is important to note that a report of a suspected side effect does not necessarily mean the vaccine or medicine was the cause of the reported event, and coincidental illness can also be a factor. Such reports remain under continual review by the MHRA in order to detect possible new risks.

The MHRA has received one suspected side effect report with a fatal outcome temporally associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which occurred in the last three years. A link with the vaccine has not been established. There has been no suggestion from safety monitoring so far in the United Kingdom that the vaccine has been responsible for any deaths.

More than three million girls have been vaccinated in the UK with HPV vaccine since 2008, and tens of millions more have been vaccinated globally. As with all vaccines, safety remains under continual review, and HPV vaccine has a very good safety record.

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