Majority of Indiana teens not getting HPV vaccinations

BLOOMINGTON – New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the HPV vaccination rates for boys and girls ages 13 to 17 in Indiana remain below the national averages, but a medical expert attributes the state’s lag to rising rates across the U.S.

More than 44 percent of the state’s teenage girls have received the full dose of the HPV vaccine, compared with 60 percent nationwide. Indiana is among the 10 least-vaccinated states for teenage boys, with nearly 13 percent fully vaccinated, compared with 40 percent nationwide.

Gregory Zimet is a professor of pediatrics and clinical psychology at Indiana University’s School of Medicine and co-director of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis’ Center for HPV Research. Although he’s unsure why more of Indiana’s youths aren’t getting vaccinations for the human papillomavirus, he said the nation’s overall HPV vaccination rates for both genders are rising.

“One part of the reason males lag behind females could be that the routine recommendation for males came out in 2011, whereas for females it was several years earlier,” Zimet said.

The HPV vaccine is licensed for males ages 13 to 21 and for females ages 9 to 26. The vaccine is given in three doses.

In Indiana, more than 61 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 and more than 23 percent of boys have received the first dose of the vaccine.

Some parents and physicians are hesitant to vaccinate children against HPV, despite research proving the vaccination reduces a person’s risk of cervical, head, neck and anal cancers.

“I think there was a lot of anxiety around this particular vaccine that has led to slower rates of vaccination,” Zimet said. “I think there are doctors who feel uncomfortable that they have to bring up sexual behavior in context of this vaccine.”

HPV, one of the most common sexually transmitted viruses, can cause genital warts and several forms of cancer, The (Bloomington) Herald Times reported. About 79 million people in the U.S. are infected.