CDC: More Low-Income Teens Getting HPV Vaccine

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According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teens below the poverty line are doing better than their more affluent peers in getting the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), which protects against cervical cancer, NPR Health reports.

The 2014 National Immunization Survey for Teens, shows that “among teenage girls ages 13 to 17 whose total family income was less than the federal poverty level for their family size, 67.2 percent have received the first dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine, compared to 57.7 percent for those at or above the poverty line. For teen boys, it’s 51.6 percent compared to 39.5 percent.”

One of the reasons for this trend, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases is the federally funded Vaccines for Children ,which covers the cost of vaccines for uninsured or low-income teens.

Despite the positive trend more work needs to be done.

“Nationwide, four out of 10 adolescent girls and six out of 10 adolescent boys still have not started the three-dose HPV vaccine series recommended by the CDC for all kids who are 11 or 12 years old.”