--- title: Katie Couric Responds to Criticism Over HPV-Vaccine-Controversy Show description: Following a segment of her daily show Katie that called the HPV vaccine "controversial," Katie Couric, journalist and host, defended — and acknowledged problems with... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7134990/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy-couric-responds/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-12-11T00:43:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T09:48:37.942Z article:section: Health og:title: Katic Couric responds to criticism over her HPV vaccine segment og:description: Following a segment of her daily show Katie that called the HPV vaccine "controversial," Katie Couric, journalist and host, defended — and acknowledged problems with... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7134990/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy-couric-responds/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebcf0e47736ba19/698a924b9862f5307389bb01/454614129-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: American Friends of Magen David Adom's Annual New York Benefit Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Katic Couric responds to criticism over her HPV vaccine segment twitter:description: Following a segment of her daily show Katie that called the HPV vaccine "controversial," Katie Couric, journalist and host, defended — and acknowledged problems with... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebcf0e47736ba19/698a924b9862f5307389bb01/454614129-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Is Katie Couric the Next Jenny McCarthy? 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=055af62c-8e2d-4bdb-8c96-b50e2b52879d&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Dec 11, 2013 12:43 AM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: TV personality Katie Couric attends American Friends of Magen David Adom's Annual New York Benefit Dinner at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on December 9, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: TV personality Katie Couric attends American Friends of Magen David Adom's Annual New York Benefit Dinner at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on December 9, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage) WireImage—2013 Noam Galai by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Dec 11, 2013 12:43 AM UTC Following a segment of her daily show _Katie_ that called the HPV vaccine “controversial,” Katie Couric, journalist and host, defended — and acknowledged problems with — her coverage. more The segment, which aired on Dec. 4, was titled “The HPV-vaccine controversy” and focused on two mothers who believed the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) harmed their daughters. The women are understandably concerned parents, but critics of Couric ([including myself](http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/04/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy/)) argued she should know better. There’s no scientific evidence confirming that the HPV vaccine causes deaths, and the risks of the vaccine are the [same as other vaccines](http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/02/gardasil-no-serious-health-concerns-linked-with-hpv-vaccine/). Public-health officials say the immunization is the best way to protect against cervical cancer and genital warts. Prior to the show, Couric was criticized for being alarmist and for creating a debate that didn’t exist by focusing on extremely rare (and unfounded) side effects of the vaccine. In her more than 1,000-word [essay](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-couric/vaccine-hpv-furthering-conversation%5Fb%5F4418568.html?1386687305) that appeared on the Huffington Post site, Couric explains that as a journalist she felt she could not ignore the adverse-event reports, but that she does support the HPV vaccine, and has had both her daughters vaccinated. (**MORE:** [Is Katie Couric the Next Jenny McCarthy?](http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/04/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy/)) Although Couric never apologizes for the segment outright, she acknowledges that the coverage may have been one-sided, writing: --- > “” --- Couric goes on to say, “There is no definitive proof that these two situations were related to the vaccine … However, the time spent telling these stories was disproportionate to the statistical risk attendant to the vaccines and greater perspective is needed.” Read Couric’s full essay [here](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-couric/vaccine-hpv-furthering-conversation%5Fb%5F4418568.html?1386687305). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7134990/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy-couric-responds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7134990/is-katie-couric-the-next-jenny-mccarthy-couric-responds/"},"headline":"Is Katie Couric the Next Jenny McCarthy? 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