HPV Vaccination Rates Among Teens Still Lagging: CDC

HPV Vaccination Rates Among Teens Still Lagging: CDC By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Not enough teens are getting the vaccine that protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV), and doctors' reluctance to recommend it may be part of the reason why, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

Although the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination rate has risen to 84.6 percent of teens, only 20.8 percent of boys and 53.8 percent of girls have had a least one dose of the HPV vaccine, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have continued to have increases in coverage for 14- to 17-year-olds for the Tdap vaccine and there is still progress on the meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) vaccine, but our coverage is not moving forward with the HPV vaccine for girls, and coverage is low for the HPV vaccine for boys," said Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director of the CDC's National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases.

The reason HPV vaccination among girls is lagging is because doctors aren't routinely recommending it when they give Tdap and MenACWY vaccinations, Wharton said.

"Although providers are very good about conveying the need for Tdap and MenACWY, they are less strong in making a recommendation for the HPV vaccine," Wharton said. "This could be because they are anticipating parental concerns."

The CDC now recommends that every boy and girl aged 11 to 12 get the HPV vaccine, which is given in three shots. The vaccine is both safe and effective, and prevents up to 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of vaginal warts.

In addition, the vaccine protects against some cancers of the head and neck, according to the CDC.

Some people worry that getting the HPV vaccine will make girls more sexually active. "But we need to protect them, because if we don't we are leaving them unnecessarily vulnerable to serious and deadly diseases that could be prevented, and we just can't do that, " Wharton said.

Wharton said HPV vaccination is a regular part of the vaccine schedule and should not be treated as anything special or different.