No clear link between HPV vaccine, side effects; Scientists: More research needed

Research done by the Dutch pharmacological vigilance center Lareb could neither prove or rule out a link between the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer and side effects suffered by girls who were vaccinated, RTL Nieuws reports.

The National Institute for Public Health RIVM will now research whether complaints, such as chronic fatigue, are more common in vaccinated girls than in girls who did not receive the vaccine.

The Government launched the vaccination against cervical cancer in 2009. Girls from the age of 12 can be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine, which protects against two types of the virus which is responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, free of charge.

Many girls complained of side effects after being vaccinated. Most of these side effects were short lived, but there 231 girls are suffering from persistent symptoms. In some cases the symptoms reach such severity that the girls cannot go to school.