HPV vaccination coverage stalled in 2023 for the second consecutive year, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
About 77% of adolescents had received at least one dose of HPV vaccine, which protects against HPV-related cancers. About 61% of teens were up to date on HPV vaccination, including 64% of females and 59% of males.
Coverage was rising until 2022, when vaccine initiation stagnated for the first time in about a decade. HPV vaccine coverage already lags most other routine vaccines.
The data come from a CDC analysis of the 2023 National Immunization Survey-Teen for more than 16,000 adolescents ages 13-17. Results were published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Among adolescents eligible for free vaccines through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, the percentage who were up to date on HPV vaccination by age 13 dropped 10 percentage points for those born in 2010 compared to those born in 2007.
“Significant opportunities to improve vaccination coverage among VFC-eligible adolescents remain, highlighting the need for continued outreach and support to address barriers to vaccination among these populations,” authors wrote.
Coverage for other routine vaccines
Looking at other routine vaccines across all adolescents, coverage with at least one dose of meningococcal B (MenB) rose three percentage points from 2022, and at least two doses of hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine rose two points.
The remaining vaccines were similar to the previous year and significantly higher than HPV. Those rates were
- 91% for at least two doses of measles, mumps and rubella,
- 91% for at least three doses of hepatitis B,
- 91% for at least two doses of varicella with no history of the disease,
- 89% for at least one dose of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap),
- 88% for at least one dose of meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY),
- 87% for at least two doses of HepA,
- 60% for at least two doses of MenACWY and
- 32% for at least one dose of MenB, which is given based on individual decisions between families and clinicians.
Several recent studies have reinforced the importance of vaccination and the important role the VFC program plays. Vaccines are estimated to have prevented more than 500 million illnesses and 1.13 million deaths among children born over the last three decades. Another study showed MMR vaccine coverage in the VFC program was just below 90% among children born in 2020, which was close to the rate among non-VFC-eligible children.
Authors of the study released today urged clinicians to talk to their patients about vaccination.
“Health care providers should strongly recommend all routine vaccines and confirm adolescents are fully vaccinated,” they wrote.
Resources
- AAP immunization resources
- CDC HPV vaccine resources
- CDC Routine Immunizations on Schedule for Everyone initiative
- Recommended child and adolescent immunization schedules
- Information for parents about HPV vaccine from HealthyChildren.org
