National vaccination coverage statistics for adolescents (13-17 years old) were recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be a cancer blog? Oh, it is–the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prevents infection by the HPV strains that cause cancer.
In 2015, 56% of adolescents had at least 1 dose of HPV vaccine, 45% had 2 doses, and 35% had all 3 doses required for maximal protection. In comparison for the same adolescent population, 87% had a Tdap vaccine and 81% had a meningococcal vaccine.
So why the low HPV vaccination rates? Continue reading Preventing cancer in our children