Adrian Volta
In May 2014, in El Carmen de Bolívar in northern Colombia, mainstream news and social media were flooded with reports and viral videos of teenage girls experiencing symptoms of a “mysterious illness,” including fainting and numbness. Claims have been made that this is related to side effects of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Although an investigation by Colombian health authorities found no evidence of a biological link between the vaccine and the reported symptoms, the impact of the claims, which have been spread via social media, remains. In 2016, the HPV vaccination rate among women in Colombia, in 2012 was one of…