New data from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry shows stalled progress on HPV and hepatitis B vaccine rates — emphasizing major opportunities for cancer prevention and outreach efforts.
Between 2019 and 2021, HPV vaccine rates for children in Wisconsin ages 11-12 showed no improvement, and hepatitis B vaccine rates saw large declines in a majority of Wisconsin counties.
The HPV vaccine protects against at least six types of cancer. The HPV vaccine is recommended for children ages 11-12 for optimal benefit. The hepatitis B vaccine protects against liver cancer. It is now recommended for all newborns, children and teens, and adults up to 59 years.
See how the 2019 and 2021 data compare:
Other key findings include:
- HPV vaccine initiation rates have improved slightly among children ages 13-17 (59.1% in 2019, to 63.5% in 2021). HPV completion rates among children ages 13-17 also show slight improvement (45.6% in 2019, to 50.4% in 2021).
- The gap in vaccination rates between females and males ages 13-17 seems to be narrowing. Vaccine rates for males saw the greatest improvement (5.3 percentage point increase for males, compared to a 4.2 percentage point increase for females).
- Several counties in Wisconsin saw small declines in HPV vaccine completion for 11- to 12-year-olds in 2021 compared to 2019.
- Hepatitis B vaccine completion rates for 24-month-olds fell by one percent (85.3% in 2019 compared to 84.3% in 2021).
Learn more and take action:
- Learn more about HPV-related cancers in Wisconsin and factors that influence immunization in our issue brief, HPV-Related Cancers and Vaccination.
- Visit the Wisconsin Immunization Program website to look at data from your county. (Note: County data is from 2020.)
- Review the evidence summary on HPV vaccination for children ages 9-12, from the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable.
- Use this helpful infographic from the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, Catch-up Now An Urgent Action Call for Health Systems to Close the Adolescent Vaccination Care Gap.
- Use these Core Messages to help normalize HPV vaccination at age 9.
Increasing cancer prevention vaccine completion is an important part of the Wisconsin Cancer Plan 2020-2030.
Please contact us to learn how to promote cancer prevention vaccines in your community.
Thank you to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Wisconsin Immunization Program for providing the input and data needed for this update.