HPV vaccination rates remain extremely low among younger teens in the United States – ScienceDaily

"Providers need to be aware that, even though HPV vaccination coverage has progressed, we are still lagging behind at a younger age," said Robert A. Bednarczyk, PhD, of the School of Public Health. Rollins of Emory University and lead author of the study. "In general, we need to do a better job of recommending the HPV vaccine during routine visits, teenagers and young children, paying special attention to 11 to 12 year olds."

In the United States, nearly 80 million people are currently infected with one type of HPV, a common virus transmitted through badual contact. Each year, HPV causes approximately 34,000 cancers, including cervical, badl and vulvar cancers in women; penile cancer in men; and cancer of the mouth, throat and anus in women and men. The most recent version of the vaccine protects against seven of the most common types of HPV that cause cancer.

For this study, researchers badyzed the 2016 data from a national survey of parents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes vaccine information verified by providers. Overall, approximately 43.4% of youth aged 13-17 were fully immunized against HPV. The badysis revealed that 15.8% of adolescents had received all recommended doses of HPV vaccine before their 13th birthday. Among older adolescents, approximately 34.8% of adolescents were up to date with their HPV vaccination at age 15.

Timely immunization against HPV between the ages of 11 and 12 has several advantages. The immune response to the vaccine is stronger at an early age, providing better protection against HPV infections and the cancers they can cause later in life. If a teenager is vaccinated before the age of 15, only two doses of the HPV vaccine are needed instead of the three doses recommended for vaccination after this age. In addition, the HPV vaccine is one of three recommended vaccines for children aged 11 to 12 years that can be administered simultaneously. (Tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis [Tdap] and the meningococcal conjugate vaccine are the other recommended immunizations at these ages.)

The new badysis also revealed that teens with more than one health care provider were not as likely to be aware of their HPV vaccination before the age of 13. or 15 years old. These findings underscore the need for good record keeping and effective use of state immunization information systems. and increased provider awareness to ensure that these patients are not overlooked when considering vaccination options, Bednarczyk said.

Melissa B. Gilkey, PhD, and Marjorie A. Margolis, MPSH, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who did not participate in the new study, indicated that the results indicate that still a lot to do. achieve HPV vaccination rates in accordance with US guidelines.

"To realize the full potential of HPV vaccination, multiple efforts will need to be made involving scalable interventions in health systems, to better understand geographical disparities in HPV vaccination coverage, and to improve data on vaccination against HPV. HPV, "they wrote in their commentary, which appears with study in the Infectious Diseases Journal. As the findings show, they noted that "the speed of vaccination is extremely low and our work is far from complete".