SSHA

Society of Sexual Health Advisers

Unite the union
  • About us
    • JOIN SSHA
    • Code of Professional Conduct
    • National Organising Professional Committee
    • National Organising Professional Committee Structure
    • Constitution and Rules
    • Council Reports
    • NPC ACCESS ONLY
  • News
  • Regions
    • London
    • North East, Yorkshire & Humberside
    • Ireland
    • Scotland
    • South West
    • East Midlands – VACANT
    • North West
    • South East
    • Wales
    • West Midlands
  • Resources
    • I Want To Be A Health Adviser
    • SSHA Manual
    • Conference Presentations
    • Competency Framework for Sexual Health Advisers
    • WeSSI: West Sussex Sexual Health Structured Interview
    • Research
    • Unite – Union
    • Publications
  • Jobs
    • Current Jobs
    • Sample Job Descriptions
  • Links
Home » HPV rates drop 64% in decade since recommended CDC vaccination

HPV rates drop 64% in decade since recommended CDC vaccination

February 22, 2016 By SSHA Leave a Comment

22 February 2016

Although human papillomavirus vaccination rates are low in the US, this is the first time a study has shown evidence of the effect on women in their 20s

Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence is down 64% since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a vaccination for the sexually transmitted infection a decade ago, according to a study released on Monday.

CDC researchers said this is also the first time a study has shown evidence of the effect of the vaccination on women in their 20s, where prevalence decreased 34%, even though vaccination rates for HPV are relatively low in the US.

The US government study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, built on data from 2013 that showed a significant drop in HPV prevalence among teenagers since the vaccination was recommended in 2006.

Lead author Dr Lauri E Markowitz said that prevalence should continue to drop as vaccine coverage increases. “And as women who got the vaccine when they were younger age move into these older age groups, we should continue to see a continued decrease,” she said.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US and about 79 million Americans currently have the infection, according to the CDC.

To show the change between the “pre-vaccination era” and “vaccination era”, researchers compared the prevalence rates from 2003 to 2006 – the year the CDC recommended the vaccination for young women – to prevalence in the period from 2009 to 2012 – four years after the recommendation was issued.

For women ages 14 to 19 years, the rate dropped 64%. For women aged 20 to 24 years, the rate dropped 34%.

There are more than 40 different types of HPV, but subtypes 16 and 18 are responsible for most HPV-caused cancers. This quadrivalent vaccine referenced in the study targets subtype 16 and 18 as well as 6 and 11. Through 2014, more than 98% of people to receive the HPV vaccine were given the three dose quadrivalent vaccine.

“Overall, the fact that we are seeing a larger decrease overall than what we expect given our coverage rates does suggest there may be some herd protection and there also may be effectiveness from less than a complete three dose series,” Markowitz said.

HPV vaccine rates were hastened by stigma associated with the vaccine since it was recommended for girls aged 12 in 2006 – and then again when the CDC recommended it for young men in 2011. Parents were concerned that it encouraged sexual activity in young people, though studies show that is not the case.

Markowitz said: “We’re seeing impact of the vaccination program and that’s very encouraging and it shows how effective the campaign is but we can be even greater if we had higher coverage and we know HPV coverage lags behind other adolescent vaccines so if we had coverage higher we could see larger decreases.”

Filed Under: Featured, Media Watch Tagged With: cdc, hpv, human papillomavirus, lauri e markowitz

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About SSHA

The Society of Sexual Health Advisers (SSHA) is a UK national organisation with approximately 300 members out of an estimated 350 sexual health advisers in the country. It provides an opportunity for members to meet and work towards further professional development.

Recent Posts

  • Helping People to Reduce Sexual Health Risk: A Motivational Interviewing Approach February 28, 2023

Useful Links

  • BASHH
  • HPV Action
  • NAM
  • Public Health England
  • Public Health Scotland
  • Terence Higgins Trust
  • UNITE the Union

Copyright © 2023 · SSHA - Society of Sexual Health Advisers

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT