THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates did not increase from 2019 to 2022, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Kalyani Sonawane, Ph.D., from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and colleagues analyzed data for U.S. participants aged 18 to 26 years from the 2018, 2019, and 2022 National Health Interview Survey to examine HPV vaccination coverage during the pandemic.

In 2022, 2,159 adults aged 18 to 26 years with HPV vaccination information were identified. The researchers found that 47.4 percent of these adults reported receiving one or more vaccine doses. The HPV vaccination rate increased from 2018 to 2019 (39.9 to 47.0 percent), but no significant change was seen for 2019 to 2022. More women than men were vaccinated in 2022 (57.2 versus 37.3 percent). In 2022, coverage was similar for Hispanics, non-Hispanic Blacks, and participants of other races and ethnicities compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Higher coverage was seen for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual orientation groups versus heterosexual women (70.6 versus 53.6 percent) and for gay, bisexual, and other sexual orientation versus heterosexual men (52.7 versus 36.2 percent). Uninsured men and women had lower coverage than their insured counterparts.

“Human papillomavirus vaccination coverage among young adults did not increase during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with prior years,” the authors write. “This finding likely reflects pandemic-related disruptions in initiating the HPV vaccine among young adults.”

Two authors disclosed ties to Value Analytics Labs; one disclosed ties to Merck.

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