Learning More About Ways to Improve Adolescent HPV Coverage.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have been available for use in the United States since 2006 for girls and 2009 for boys.1 Vaccination uptake levels among adolescents, the preferred age for vaccination, have been examined annually through several different mechanisms and found to be continually well below national goals.2 The repetition of these findings is now, sadly, “old news.” So you may be asking yourself, “Do we need yet another study on adolescent HPV vaccination coverage in the United States?” Based on the findings of the study by Chen et al3 presented in this issue of Pediatrics the answer is a definitive “yes!” In this study, the authors provide some new and valuable insights regarding HPV vaccine uptake in the United States. Like researchers in many other studies, these researchers used a nationwide, population-based database to examine HPV vaccination initiation and completion by age, sex, and geographic location. With >7 million children included, researchers in the study were well powered to examine differences in vaccination coverage by these and other factors. And, like in many other studies, Chen et al3 demonstrated increasing vaccination levels over … Address correspondence to Amanda F. Dempsey, MD, PhD, MPH, University of Colorado Denver, 13199 East Montview Blvd, Suite 300, Aurora, CO 80045. E-mail: amanda.dempsey{at}cuanschutz.edu