Do HPV vaccines make you more likely to catch HPV?

In a video, Brian Hooker and Polly Tommey claim that girls vaccinated against HPV had more ovarian problems and were more likely to catch HPV.

• Reports of ovarian problems after vaccination do not prove the vaccine caused them.
• A Danish study of nearly 1 million girls and women found no link between HPV vaccination and early ovarian failure.
• Studies in Sweden, Scotland, and the U.S. show that HPV vaccination helps prevent cervical cancer.

Hooker claims that a Florida database shows more ovarian problems and HPV infections among girls who received the HPV vaccine. However, he has not shared a study or explained how he analyzed the data, so we cannot check his claim. And we aren’t going to take his word for it, either.

A few reports of ovarian problems after vaccination do not prove that the vaccine caused them. These problems can also happen in people who have never received the vaccine. When millions of people get vaccinated, some will develop an unrelated health problem afterward by chance. To check for a link, researchers must compare vaccinated and unvaccinated people and account for other differences between the groups. Individual reports can raise questions, but larger studies are needed to answer them.

Those larger studies offer reassuring findings. A Danish study of nearly 1 million girls and women found no link between HPV vaccination and ovaries failing too early.

Research also shows strong protection against cervical cancer.

1. A Swedish study of nearly 1.7 million girls and women found an 88% lower cancer rate among those vaccinated before age 17. 
2. In Scotland, no cases of cervical cancer were recorded during the study among women vaccinated by age 13.
3. A U.S. study found that states with higher HPV vaccination rates generally had larger drops in cervical cancer rates.

Don’t take our word for it. Check the data yourself.