Public Health Leaders Urge HPV Immunization in Time for Back to School

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As the start of school approaches, local public health leaders are calling on parents to protect children from preventable diseases, in particular the human papillomavirus (HPV) which is responsible for 36,000 new cancer diagnosis each year.

In April 2020, vaccinations for children decreased by more than 40% compared to the same month the previous year, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that HPV vaccination in the United States dropped by 21% during the pandemic. However, even before the pandemic, the number of San Diegans who had received the complete series of HPV vaccines was at 54%. This is far below the national goal of 80% vaccination, and significantly lagging behind Meningococcal (93%) and Tdap (94%) rates, which are typically given during the same visit.

“Essential immunizations keep our kids safe from numerous, serious vaccine-preventable diseases, and this back-to-school immunization push has never been more critical,” said Dr. Mark Sawyer, professor and pediatrics program director at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

“While the pandemic has disrupted normal back to school schedules, we are urging parents and guardians to contact their primary care team and get their adolescents caught up on lifesaving immunizations.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 3, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency officials, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the Office of Mayor Todd Gloria, the San Diego County Office of Education and other public health experts, have issued an urgent call to physicians, parents and young people to get adolescent immunization back on track.  

Both San Diego County and City of San Diego have issued separate proclamations recognizing the first week of August as California HPV Vaccine Week.

The CDC recommends Tdap, HPV and Meningococcal vaccinations for boys and girls ages 11 to 12 as well as an annual influenza vaccine, and endorses the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents 12 years and older. Catch-up HPV vaccination is recommended through age 26, and up to age 45.

A team at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health led by Jesse Nodora, associate professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego, investigated HPV vaccination knowledge, awareness and practices by health providers, pharmacists and school or university providers in San Diego County to help stakeholders identify opportunities to increase HPV vaccinations.

The findings were presented in February 2021 at the San Diego HPV Vaccination Call to Action Summit. It created the basis for an academic community workgroup called San Diego Protecting Against HPV (SD PATH).

“While the work to increase HPV vaccination rates in our county has been challenged by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, these immunizations have never been more important,” said Jesse Nodora, who is also director of community engagement at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute.

“The goal of PATH is to bring together area immunization champions to increase HPV vaccination in our region. The only way we will be able to make San Diego free of HPV-related cancers is by working in partnership.”

The workgroup is currently focused on capacity building and inventory projects, curating continuing education for local providers, facilitating learning opportunities for the community, investigating pilot research projects and increasing cancer prevention awareness. Its goal is to raise HPV vaccination rates to 80% by 2026. Community participation is encouraged.