Only a third of adolescent Iowans completed HPV vaccine series in 2019

While the rate of adolescents receiving the first shot of the HPV vaccine increased statewide, new data shows the rate of young Iowans actually completing the two-dose series declined in 2019.

Experts say there’s potential the COVID-19 pandemic could further decrease these vaccination rates, which has caused a similar declining trend in other routine childhood immunizations in Iowa and nationwide, according to studies from a major health insurance federation.

A new report published Tuesday by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association analyzed HPV vaccination rates over a three-year period for commercially insured populations nationwide that are between the ages of 10 and 13 years.

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is a sexually transmitted viral infection that can lead to certain types of cancers, including cervical and throat cancer. Estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that HPV is responsible for up to 90 percent of these cancers nationwide.

The CDC recommends all 11- and 12-year-old girls and boys receive the two-dose vaccine.

Nationwide, more than 50 percent of adolescents received the first dose, but less than 30 percent returned for that second shot in 2019, according the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report.

The number of adolescent Iowans receiving their initial HPV vaccine increased in 2019, reaching 63 percent, from 39 percent in 2016, data shows.

However, young Iowans returning for that second shot remained at 33 percent in 2019. Thirty-four percent of girls and 32 percent of boys were fully vaccinated — down from 38 percent and 40 percent respectively in 2016.

Officials with Wellmark, Iowa’s Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, said its important parents and caregivers follow through with both doses to ensure the best protection against the sexually transmitted virus.

“The HPV vaccine can safely prevent multiple cancers, yet just one-third of Iowa’s adolescents are fully vaccinated,” Dr. Tim Gutshall, Wellmark’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “HPV can exist for years without symptoms and is a leading cause of cervical cancer in women and throat cancer in men.”

However, some research suggests some HPV vaccines still offer long-term protection even with just one dose. The National Cancer Institution found in a decadelong study that women were protected against cervical infection after they received a single vaccine dose, instead of the recommended two or three doses.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report also polled parents whose children were immunized against HPV, and found that 29 percent were unsure about the vaccine’s effectiveness and 22 percent were concerned about potential side effects. In addition, 25 percent of parents and caregivers declined the shots because they weren’t required, according to the report.

Other childhood immunizations declining

Routine immunizations — such as those against measles, whooping cough and polio — among school-aged children in Iowa also have declined more than 20 percent over the past year, according to a report from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Those findings were similar to a report by the Iowa Department of Public Health, which stated non-influenza immunizations among children and adults had “significantly decreased” in 2020.

Overall, there was a 40 percent decline for all age groups, or a difference of more than 105,000 doses, in March through April 2020 when compared to that same time period in 2019, the report stated.

According to the nationwide report published by Blue Cross Blue Shield, children in the United States were on track to miss as many as 9 million vaccine doses by the end of 2020 — a 26 percent decline from 2019.

Officials said the main driver of the decline was the ongoing pandemic, which disrupted back-to-school routines and other everyday occurrences for families.

Wellmark officials encouraged parents and caregivers to seek out vaccines for their children, including the HPV vaccine.

“Even as the pandemic persists, I continue to encourage parents to work with their primary care provider to stay on schedule or catch up with this, and other important vaccines,” Gutshall said in a statement.

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