Nearly 62% of adolescents were up to date on HPV vaccination in 2021, up from about 59% the year before, according to a new study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed progress on other vaccines.
The data come from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis of just over 18,000 teenagers from the 2021 National Immunization Survey-Teen.
Females continued to have higher rates of HPV vaccination than males in 2021, but the gap is narrowing. About 63.8% of females had completed the series compared to 59.8% of males.
Coverage for HPV continued to lag other routine vaccines. The 2021 coverage rates for other vaccines were
- 92.3% for at least three doses of hepatitis B,
- 92.2% for at least two doses of measles, mumps and rubella,
- 91.5% for at least two doses of varicella with no history of the disease,
- 89.6% for at least one dose of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap),
- 89% for at least one dose of meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY),
- 85% for at least two doses of hepatitis A,
- 60% for at least two doses of MenACWY and
- 31.4% for meningococcal B, which is given based on individual decisions between families and clinicians.
An analysis aiming to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic found that among adolescents who turned 13 in 2021, coverage with MenACWY was about 5 percentage points lower than for those who turned 13 in 2019. Likewise, Tdap coverage was 4 percentage points lower among those who turned 12 in 2020 compared to those who turned 12 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authors called on clinicians to recommend vaccination to those who are behind during every clinical encounter. They also should reach out to those who are not up to date and encourage them to schedule an appointment.
“Achieving and maintaining high vaccination coverage levels for adolescents will ensure they have protection from serious and sometimes life-threatening vaccine-preventable diseases,” they wrote.
Resources
