HPV Vaccine and the Conspiracy Theorists.

By Joy Jaiyesimi

“Mummy please do not sign! Do not give your consent”. By this time crying out loud and grabbing my hand. “I don’t like injection; the needles are very painful”.  This was my daughter’s reaction to a letter from her school requesting for consent to administer the HPV Vaccine. In a sober mood, my daughter went to bed despite my assurances that I will be by her side.

While on my part, immediately I read the letter from the school, seeking my consent, I didn’t hesitate because it was an answer to my prayers. Over the years, as a broadcast content producer and a host of a gender- based radio programme, whenever the topic for discussion centred on cervical cancer, many of my guests had always advocated for the inclusion of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccines as part of the routine immunizations by the federal government.

Prior to this first ongoing mass vaccination exercise by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the HVB vaccine was seemingly the preserve of the children of the rich, as only they could afford to pay heavily for it in private medical facilities.

Prior to D -Day for the vaccination exercise at my daughter’s school, I received a barrage of WhatsApp messages on the dangers associated with the HVB vaccine, and the consequences it will have on girls in the future. These messages also contained why parents should resist and never allow their daughters to get the shot.

Even with my certificate in Countering Disinformation obtained from the Radio Netherlands Training Centre, I was almost persuaded by the messages from the anti-vaccine campaigners.

These messages are spreading like wildfire on all platforms across Nigeria instilling fear on parents, thereby leading to vaccine hesitancy.

There have always been a lot of misinformation about vaccines, not only in Nigeria but also around the world. In Nigeria, the oral polio vaccine was met with serious resistance, in 2003, the decreased take-up of the polio vaccine in northern Nigeria resulted in increased polio-virus transmission throughout the country and then into 20 neighboring countries.

We cannot forget in a hurry the Covid 19 vaccine and the conspiracy theories of the anti-vaxx campaigners.

Therefore, the current anti-vaccine campaigns urging parents to resist the HPV vaccine is not new, it behooves on you to either take action to protect your precious daughter (s) from future pain associated with cervical cancer or you vaccinate them and secure their future.

In a WHO 2023 report, Cervical cancer ranks as the second most frequent cancer among women in Nigeria and the 2nd most frequent cancer death among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

With 12,000 cases diagnosed and 8,000 deaths recorded annually, it is equivalent to 33 new cervical cancer cases and 22 deaths daily.

And one of the most effective ways to prevent this ravaging monster is by allowing your daughter(s) get the HPV vaccine shot.

Back to my nine years old daughter who is so afraid of needles, on sighting the health workers in the school premises, she started crying and throwing tantrums, it took a lot of effort to get her vaccinated against the HPV.

Honestly, I was really happy as my daughters got the first shot of the vaccine, this has been made possible by the federal government of Nigeria, the World Health Organization, GAVI and other development partners.