CDC: HPV vaccination low among adolescents

NEW YORK — Vaccination against human papillomavirus continues to lag among adolescents, according to the Center for Disease Control’s 2014 report, issued Wednesday. Only about 60% of adolescent girls and 42% of adolescent boys have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“Routinely recommending HPV vaccination at ages 11 to 12 years during the same visit and with the same emphasis used for other vaccines is critical,” the report said.

But wide vaccination coverage varied from state to local jurisdictions — even increasing in some, the CDC said. Chicago, Washington D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Montana and North Carolina reported coverage with at least three HPV doses among females.  Percentage-point increases were 14.5% in Georgia and 28.6% in Washington, D.C.

All other vaccines routinely recommended for adolescents ages 13- to 17-years old, on the other hand, increased in both 2013 and 2014, according to the report.