Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/first-ever-hpv-vaccination-campaign-pak... ]
The misconception that the oral polio vaccine (OPV) causes sterility in children is widespread not only in Pakistan, but also in certain communities in Afghanistan and India, as well as in northern Nigeria. It is important to understand why this misconception has persisted for 30 years in these two regions of the world, as well as how it may affect HPV vaccination.
This idea emerged during the mass OPV vaccination campaigns organized to eradicate polio. Poor communities, which suffer from numerous diseases, lack basic healthcare, and are often unaware of what polio is, do not understand these campaigns (https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0154). When people do not understand a public health intervention, they invent explanations: these campaigns are organized by the authorities to sterilize children and limit the population. The Global Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative has been repeating mass vaccination days for thirty years, without achieving sufficient vaccination coverage due to resistance in certain communities but thereby fueling rumors. It is time to stop these mass vaccination days with OPV and to strengthen polio vaccination as part of the Expanded Program on Immunization, which is widely accepted by all communities (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101290).
In Pakistan, as in other countries, the HPV vaccine is administered only to girls. How does the population perceive this selective vaccination? Is it surprising that in a region where misconceptions about the OPV vaccine causing sterility in children are circulating, these ideas also affect the HPV vaccine? How can we stop the spread of misconceptions about OPV?
To increase acceptance of HPV vaccination, these questions must first be answered.
Bernard Seytre
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HIFA profile: Bernard Seytre is a Consultant at BNSCommunication in France. Professional interests: Health communication and education. seytre AT bnscom.fr