White, non-Hispanic adolescents had, on average, the lowest rate of human papillomavirus vaccination among measured ethnicities in 2014, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Just over 36% of white adolescent males aged 13-17 years had received at least one HPV vaccine dose; 6% less than black, non-Hispanic males. Asian non-Hispanics had the lowest rate of vaccination among female adolescents at 55%, though the vaccination rate for white female adolescents was only slightly higher at 56%.
The highest rate of vaccination in male adolescents was in Hispanics at 54%, and in females, the highest rate was in American Indian/Alaska Native at 71%.
By state, Kansas had the lowest rate of HPV vaccination at 38%, followed by Mississippi at 46%. Rhode Island had the highest vaccination rate of any state at 76%, but the local areas of Philadelphia and Chicago surpassed it with vaccination rates of 80% and 78%, respectively. The state with the second highest vaccination rate was North Carolina at just over 71% (MMWR 2015 Jul.31;64(29):784-92).
As HPV coverage is significantly lower than other vaccinations, “routinely recommending HPV vaccination at ages 11-12 years during the same visit and with the same emphasis used for other vaccines is critical,” the CDC investigators said.
