A recent CDC report examined vaccination coverage among U.S adolescents ranging from 13-17 years old. This report shed light on what as a society we are excelling at, and most importantly, where adolescents unfortunately fall through the cracks.
It was found that in 2022, over 90% of teens had received the Tdap and MenACWY vaccines but coverage for the HPV vaccine lagged. While most teens would be protected against tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis, they would be vulnerable to human papillomavirus and its linked cancers. The study makes an interesting connection between COVID-19 and delayed routine vaccinations. With everything being shut down during COVID, especially with stay at home orders in place, vaccine uptake was nearly impossible even for early childhood shots.
Although Tdap and MenACWY uptake has been great, the lag in HPV vaccinations is of concern. This has raised questions about possible barriers of access, awareness, and hesitancy. Especially given that right now medicine is up in the air, the lag in vaccine schedules is bound to get worse. All of this leads me to two questions:
What do you think are the biggest barriers preventing teens from completing their full HPV vaccine series?
How can schools (very controversial given the timing especially with some states trying to get rid of vaccine mandates), parents, and healthcare providers work together to make up for the lag in vaccinations after the pandemic?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Health and economic benefits of routine childhood immunizations — United States, 2023. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 73(31), 1011–1016. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7331a2.htm
Vaccinations are something that have gotten so much attention from the media lately, we have to start examining why this is happening. I think the biggest barrier keeping teens from getting the full HPV series is based on lack of information. The HPV vaccine is often presented outside of the mandatory vaccine schedule, which causes parents to question why that is. That question leads them to doing research that may not be providing them with accurate information and ultimately influencing their decision. Schools need to maintain their focus on the safety of their students, not politics. By reducing the mandate for students to be vaccinated, many parents would opt not to vaccinate their child when another child in the school relies solely on herd immunity for their own safety because they are medically unable to get the vaccine. Removing vaccine requirements in schools would make schools unaccessable to some children with complex health issues (based in fact) due to the preference of others (based in belief)
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