UNC News Service

CHAPEL HILL — Injections of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine appear to be no more painful than other shots that prevent disease, according to a new study by researchers at UNC.

The finding follows anecdotal accounts and news stories that have emphasized the potential side effects of the HPV vaccine, including reports of painful injections. That has prompted concern among public health professionals that vaccine pain may deter parents and young women from getting the vaccine or completing the three-dose series.

Researchers at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center found that most parents of adolescent girls reported their daughters experienced similar or less pain from HPV vaccine shots than from tetanus boosters and meningococcal vaccinations. The study, “How much will it hurt? HPV vaccine side effects and influence on completion of the three-dose regimen,” appears online in the journal Vaccine.

The HPV vaccine can protect young women from the strains of the virus that cause the majority of cervical cancers, several other deadly cancers and genital warts. Yet only about 37 percent of adolescent girls in the U.S. eligible for the vaccine have initiated the three-dose vaccination series.

“Some stories about HPV vaccine side effects and pain have been downright scary. However, most parents in our study reported their daughters experienced the same amount of pain or even less pain from the HPV vaccine compared to these other vaccines,” said UNC postdoctoral fellow Paul L. Reiter, corresponding author of the study.

The team also found that pain from HPV vaccination was not a reason behind failure to complete the vaccine regimen. Daughters who experienced pain from HPV vaccination were just as likely to complete all three doses on time as those who did not experience pain.