More Than 14 Million Preteens Need to Receive HPV Vaccine

FRIDAY, Oct. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) — More than 14 million additional 11- to 12-year-olds need to be vaccinated to reach the American Cancer Society goal of 80 percent of adolescents being up to date (UTD) with the human papillomavirus vaccination (HPVV) by their 13th birthday by 2026, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in Cancer.

Stacey A. Fedewa, M.P.H., Ph.D., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the number of additional adolescents who need the HPVV to reach the American Cancer Society goal of 80 percent prevalence by 2026. Baseline HPVV prevalence was estimated using the 2016 National Immunization Survey for Teens.

The researchers found that for 80 percent prevalence to be achieved, an additional 7.62 million male and 6.77 million female adolescents aged 11 to 12 years need to receive two doses of the vaccine between 2018 and 2026. Eighty percent of adolescents who were not UTD also needed to initiate vaccination; more than 90 percent had visited a health care provider recently.

“To reach this goal, improvements in facilitators of HPVV initiation, including physician recommendations and parental acceptability, are needed,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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