New Study Finds Fewer than Half of Female Teens Have Been Vaccinated for HPV, Thousands of Women Develop Cancer Needlessly: Reaction Statement from TFAH

WASHINGTON , Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new study, National, State, and Local Area Vaccination Coverage among Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years, in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which finds fewer than half of female teens have been vaccinated against Human papillomavirus (HPV) and, even when female teens begin the vaccination, only two in three complete the series. According to the report, there are also significant racial/ethnic and poverty disparities for HPV vaccination completion rates and in cervical cancer rates, so the disparities in the vaccination rates will continue to compound the disease disparity rates. The following is a statement from Jeff Levi, Ph.D., executive director of the Trust for America's Health on the new data:

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"These rates are nothing short of tragic. We could be sparing an entire generation from HPV, which can lead to a range of STDs, cervical cancer and other cancers. While given in teenage years, this vaccine, which is now available free of cost for most teens as part of the prevention benefits in the Affordable Care Act, protects people for their entire lives.

"We need public health officials to begin a major education campaign that overcomes parental misunderstandings about vaccines and the willingness of some policymakers to put the future health of today's youth at unnecessary risk because of squeamishness about sexually transmitted infections. Approximately 20 million Americans – about five percent of the U.S. population – are currently infected with HPV, and another six million are infected each year.

"Annually, around 12,000 women develop cervical cancer, 3,700 develop vulvar cancer, 1,000 develop vaginal cancer and 2,700 develop anal cancer. According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the estimated lifetime total medical cost of HPV infection for men and women aged 15–24 is $2.9 billion, which makes HPV the second most expensive STI after HIV. In addition, the direct medical care costs associated with cervical cancer were estimated to equal $1.7 billion in 1996 dollars, according to the CDC.

"We can spare the next generation this fate and unburden them of significant health care costs, if we pull our heads out of the sand."

* Greater than or equal to 1 dose of human papillomavirus vaccine, either quadrivalent or bivalent. Percentage reported among females only (n = 9,220). National, State, and Local Area Vaccination Coverage among Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years, in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6033a1.htm?s_cid=mm6033a1_w

** Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Rates are suppressed if fewer than 16 cases were reported in a state. Source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2007 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2010. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.

*** Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Rates are suppressed if fewer than 16 cases were reported in a state. Source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2007 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2010. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org.

SOURCE Trust for America's Health