Using the HPV vaccine as a public health case study for identifying potential barriers to a Fentanyl vaccine

A fentanyl vaccine would serve as a passive model of overdose prevention and a harm reduction strategy that could save the lives of those at risk of fentanyl overdose. Implementation of this innovation has the potential to be impeded by concerns for safety, efficacy, and risk of unintended harms, as well as resistance to change from clinical, programmatic, and public sectors. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine also faced barriers to its implementation, with a lower acceptance rate than other standard vaccines. Concerted efforts to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine have been successful and contributed to the significant declines in HPV infections and associated precancers documented since its introduction. This report summarizes parallels between factors that negatively affected the acceptability of the HPV vaccine which may similarly impact acceptability of a fentanyl vaccine and summarizes potential strategies to mitigate barriers in the potential future implementation of a fentanyl vaccine.