Why do some folks think that Japan banned the HPV vaccine?

The usual suspects…

Did Japan Ban the HPV Vaccine?

But no, Japan never did ban the HPV vaccine.

What did happen is that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare stopped formally recommending that everyone get vaccinated and protected with the HPV vaccine.

They removed their proactive recommendation for girls to get vaccinated against HPV infections.

Why?

“In Japan, coverage rates for the HPV vaccine have plummeted from 70 percent in 2013 to less than 1 percent today. This happened after a preliminary (and allegedly fraudulent) mouse study showing the vaccine caused brain damage was spread by the media, along with unconfirmed video reports of girls in wheelchairs and having seizures after getting immunized.”

Why Japan’s HPV vaccine rates dropped from 70% to near zero

Sounds like they got Wakefielded…

But they quickly reinstated the recommendation though, right?

“To better understand the significance and health impact of the purported adverse symptoms from the HPV vaccine, a national epidemiological study of the general population in Japan was conducted by a research arm of the MHLW. In the research, similar numbers of girls with the same symptoms were reported in both vaccinated and unvaccinated girls.”

Ikeda et al on HPV vaccination in Japan: what is happening in Japan?

After all, all of their investigations found no merit to the initial reports that led to the “ban.”

“In January, 2014, the Vaccine Adverse Reactions Review Committee investigating these adverse events concluded that there was no evidence to suggest a causal association between the HPV vaccine and the reported adverse events after vaccination, but they still did not reinstate proactive recommendations for its use.”

JB Hanley et al on HPV vaccination crisis in Japan

Tragically, they didn’t.

“Suspension of the recommendation for vaccination has continued to the present, despite no scientific or epidemiologic evidence showing a causal link between postvaccination symptoms and HPV vaccines. This situation is unique to Japan.”

Matsumoto et al on Reduction in HPV16/18 prevalence among young women with high‐grade cervical lesions following the Japanese HPV vaccination program

What was the effect?

We have long known that their policy led to much lower HPV vaccination rates in Japan.

And not surprisingly, lower HPV vaccination rates will once again led to higher rates of HPV infections, after years of declines among those who were vaccinated and protected.

And this is all happening in a country that is already seeing increasing rates of cervical cancer, “despite a decreasing trend in most developed countries.”

“We can’t afford to sit back and allow a similar situation to develop in which unscientific claims jeopardize lives around the world. The Japanese government should reinstate its proactive recommendation for the HPV vaccine and set a positive example before irrational fear of the vaccine gains further momentum in other countries.”

Riko Muranaka on Stopping the Spread of Japan’s Antivaccine Panic

The only real questions now are why are they still waiting to reinstate a proactive recommendation in Japan?

“In Japan, the percentage of women getting a cervical cancer screening is low, while the incidence of cervical cancer is increasing. Therefore, the nationwide introduction of HPV vaccination was expected to bring cervical cancer under control.”

Ikeda et al on HPV vaccination in Japan: what is happening in Japan?

And how many people will unnecessarily get HPV infections and cervical cancer until they do?

More on Banned Vaccines

• Are Cervical Cancer Rates Rising?
• Does Japan have the Lowest Infant Mortality Rate Following a Ban on Mandatory Vaccinations?
• Did Utah Ban the HPV Vaccine?
• Those Times Other Countries Impulsively Banned Vaccines
• I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in the HPV Vaccine
• Is the HPV Vaccine a Savior or the Most Dangerous Vaccine Ever Made?
• Have Over 75,000 Adverse Reactions to the HPV Vaccine Been Reported?
• Has Gardasil Really Eliminated Cervical Cancer in Australia?
• Stopping the Spread of Japan’s Antivaccine Panic
• How Japan was taken by an anti-vax tsunami
• Japan banned Gardasil – another ridiculous anti-vaccine myth
• Japanese HPV vaccine lawsuit – no science, no evidence
• Study – HPV vaccination crisis in Japan
• Study – Impact of HPV vaccine hesitancy on cervical cancer in Japan: a modelling study
• Study – Tracking the Global Spread of Vaccine Sentiments: The Global Response to Japan’s Suspension of Its HPV Vaccine Recommendation
• Study – Reduction in HPV 16/18 prevalence among young women following HPV vaccine introduction in a highly vaccinated district, Japan, 2008–2017
• Study – Reduction in HPV16/18 prevalence among young women with high‐grade cervical lesions following the Japanese HPV vaccination program
• Abandoning the HPV vaccine in Japan due to safety concerns – where is the evidence?
• Outcomes for Girls Without HPV Vaccination in Japan
• Study – Dynamic Changes in Japan’s Prevalence of Abnormal Findings in Cervical Cervical Cytology Depending on Birth Year
• Study – Epidemiologic and Clinical Analysis of Cervical Cancer Using Data from the Population-Based Osaka Cancer Registry
• Study – Effectiveness of HPV Vaccination Against High Grade Cervical Lesions in Japan
• Study – Increasing Risk of Uterine Cervical Cancer Among Young Japanese Women: Comparison of Incidence Trends in Japan, South Korea and Japanese-Americans Between 1985 and 2012
• Study – Newspaper coverage before and after the HPV vaccination crisis began in Japan: a text mining analysis
• HPV vaccination in Japan: what is happening in Japan?
• WHO – Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety Statement on Safety of HPV Vaccines 17 December 2015
• Why Japan’s HPV vaccine rates dropped from 70% to near zero
• Why Japan has withdrawn HPV vaccine recommendation
• Japanese court rules against journalist in HPV vaccine defamation case
• Court ruling highlights the threat of vaccine misinformation
• After Japan Embraces ‘Sensational’ Anti-Vaxxer Report, HPV Vaccination Rates Collapse
• Terminally Ill at 25 and Fighting Fake News on Vaccines
• Doctor wins 2017 John Maddox prize for countering HPV vaccine misinformation
• Riko Muranaka libel appeal: please contribute!