A review of HPV and HBV vaccine hesitancy, intention and uptake in the era of social media and COVID-19

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization named
vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. The
impact of hesitancy on uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines was
of particular concern, given the markedly lower uptake compared to other
adolescent vaccines in some countries, notably the United States. With the
recent approval of COVID-19 vaccines coupled with the widespread use of
social media, concerns regarding vaccine hesitancy have grown. However,
the association between COVID-related vaccine hesitancy and cancer
vaccines such as HPV is unclear. To examine the potential association, we
performed two reviews using Ovid Medline and APA PsychInfo. Our aim was to
answer two questions: (1) Is COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, intention, or
uptake associated with HPV or HBV vaccine hesitancy, intention, or uptake?
and (2) Is exposure to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media
associated with HPV or HBV vaccine hesitancy, intention, or uptake? Our
review identified few published empirical studies that addressed these
questions. Our results highlight the urgent need for studies that can
shift through the vast quantities of social media data to better
understand the link between COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and
disinformation and its impact on uptake of cancer vaccines.