HPV vaccination rates increased after ACIP update for adults aged 27 to 45

by Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter 

Increases in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administration were seen in adults aged 27 to 45 years after the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended patient-clinician shared decision-making about HPV vaccination in adults aged 27 to 45 years in 2019, according to a study published online Dec. 16 in JAMA Health Forum.

Ryan Suk, Ph.D., from The University of Texas Health Science Center at the Houston School of Public Health, and colleagues examined the association between the ACIP recommendation update and HPV vaccine administration among 22,600,520 U.S. adults aged 27 to 45 years without previous vaccination.

The researchers found that the ACIP update was associated with an immediate increase in vaccine administration rate in women (coefficient β2, 40.18 per 100,000 persons per quarter) and an increased slope over time postupdate (coefficient β3, 9.62 per 100,000 persons per quarter). In men, the update was only associated with an immediate increase in vaccine administration (coefficient β2, 27.54). Similar annual rate trends were seen across race and ethnicity groups. Over time, age at vaccination shifted; for example, women aged 40 to 45 years comprised 4.9, 19.0, and 22.7 percent of vaccinations in 2017, 2019, and 2020, respectively.

“Future studies are needed to address the difficulties surrounding identifying those who will most likely benefit from the vaccine and the unsureness of what to emphasize during shared decision-making,” the authors write. “Developing effective decision aids would be the key to successfully implementing this updated ACIP guideline.”