HPV Vaccination Rates Are Flat Among Teenage Girls: CDC

Despite repeated urging from health officials that teenage girls should receive an HPV vaccine, new data show vaccination rates in girls between the ages of 13 and 17 did not increase from 2011 to 2012. And administration of the complete three-dose regimen declined slightly year-over-year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks the first year that coverage did not rise. Vaccination coverage with at least one dose reached 25.1 percent in 2007, the first full year after which the Gardasil vaccine was approved by the FDA, and hit 53 percent by 2011. But in 2012, the needle – pun intended – hardly moved as one-dose coverage was 53.8 percent. For the complete regiment, the data show a drop from 34.8 percent of girls to 33.4 percent (here is the report). “No progress. Zero,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a media briefing. “We’re used to seeing coverage increases of about 10 percent a year with new vaccines. Last year, increase (in overall HPV coverage) was 4 percent. HPV vaccine hasn’t kept pace with other vaccines recommended… We’re dropping the ball. We’re missing opportunities to give HPV vaccines to protect girls from cervical cancer.” The findings are particularly frustrating for public health officials, since a study released last month found that the prevalence of the human papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer, dropped by roughly half among teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 19 years old during t...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs