The controversy swells around the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV). The National Council of the Order of Physicians announced, this Monday, April 7, 2025, the opening of disciplinary procedure against a Tunisian doctor who published on the social networks alarmist videos calling into question the security of the vaccine and warning against its supposed effects on the reproductive health of young girls.
Samia Trabelsi Gouilem, member of the National Council of the Order and specialist in gynecology-obstetrics, confirmed to the TAP agency that these declarations were unfounded and dangerous. She recalled that the papillomavirus vaccine is “safe, effective and scientifically validated”, adding that the Tunisian state has mobilized important means to integrate it into the national vaccination calendar, in order to prevent cervical cancer which affects nearly 400 women in Tunisia each year, often diagnosed at an advanced stage.
“The Council of the Order of Physicians will not tolerate the dissemination of false information likely to sow fear among the population and compromise public health campaigns,” she warned. Disciplinary sanctions will be applied against this practitioner for having conveyed erroneous data and incited parents to refuse the vaccination of their daughters.
The specialist has also drawn attention to the proliferation, in recent days, of videos broadcast by other people presenting themselves as doctors – without being inscribed to order – and calling to boycott the vaccine. She urged the Ministry of Health to intervene quickly to stop these practices which she considers a threat to national health security and the success of the vaccination campaign.
As a reminder, the national vaccination campaign against papillomavirus started on April 7 in Tunisia. It aims to protect young girls from a virus responsible for serious cancers, especially that of the cervix. But this public health initiative comes up against a wave of disinformation on social networks, fueled by certain alarmist discourses without scientific foundation.
