The HPV vaccine is safe and remains the most effective tool to treat cervical cancer, national lab Statens Serum Institute (SSI) and the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet wrote in an unpublished report, according to cancer fighting organisation Kræftens Bekæmpelse.
SSI and Karolinska Institutet tested one million girls from Sweden and Denmark between the age of ten and 18, 300,000 of whom had been injected with the HPV vaccine.
Anders Peter Hviid of SSI was one of the researchers responsible for the study. He stated that no connections were found between the HPV vaccine and any serious illnesses.
“We have investigated 53 different diseases and have found no reason to be concerned. Our results don't back the claims that the HPV vaccine raises any risks of serious illnesses," Hviid told Kræftens Bekæmpelse.
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Hopefully putting an end to fears
The vaccine protects against HPV viruses that are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases. Some 400 women a year contract cervical cancer in Denmark, and roughly a third of those cases turn fatal.
Last week, it was reported that some Danish doctors recommended stopping HPV injections until a comprehensive survey could guarantee it was safe.
Concerns were raised that the HPV vaccine could increase the risk of getting blood clots, diseases in which the body’s immune system starts attacking its own cells, or neurological diseases such as epilepsy or paralysis.
Frede Olesen, the head of Kræftens Bekæmpelse, hopes that the SSI and Karolinska results will put an end to people's fear of the vaccine.
“It is a shame if the side effects outweigh all the benefits. This is a vaccine that can prevent a serious type of cancer and save hundreds of lives in Denmark,” he said.
Over 350,000 Danish women have been injected with the HPV vaccine.
