Increasing HPV Vaccine Uptake for All Ages
Increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates can be tricky, particularly due to the stigma associated with sexual behavior among adolescents. International HPV awareness day was March 4, and served as a reminder to continue local HPV vaccine promotion efforts.
Nationally, HPV is estimated to cause 36,000 new cases of cancer each year. We have an opportunity to eradicate HPV-associated cancers, and yet too many people are not getting a safe and effective vaccine that prevents six different cancers associated with HPV including oral pharyngeal and cervical cancer.
The HPV vaccine is approved for ages 9 years through 45 years. The American Cancer Society and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend vaccination at age 9.
Are We Making Progress?
Healthy People 2030 vaccination objective IID-08 aims to increase the proportion of adolescents who receive recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. This objective is measured by tracking the proportion of adolescents aged 13–15 years receiving 2 or 3 doses of HPV vaccine.
The objective’s target is 80%, and the latest national data indicate that 54.5% of adolescents have received the recommended doses. This is a slight improvement from previous years, but there is still progress to be made to achieve the desired target.
Strategies for Increasing Vaccination Uptake
Receiving a health provider recommendation for the HPV vaccine is the most effective strategy for improving vaccination rates. However, barriers such as parental hesitancy (for adolescents), insufficient provider recommendation, and time constraints can inhibit HPV vaccine uptake.
Here are some tools and resources to boost HPV vaccine uptake in your practice:
Administrative processes:
Clinical encounters:
This toolkit from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has patient-focused materials (social media graphics, videos, and articles) which can promote awareness of the HPV vaccine. Additionally, this AAP resource contains professional resources and printable PDFs to promote HPV vaccine education.
The minimum order quantity for bivalent Moderna 6mo – 5yr old (NDC 80777-0283-99) vaccine is being reduced to 20 doses per order. As a reminder, one carton of this vaccine contains 20 doses in 10 two-dose vials.Because ancillary supplies are packed well in advance of demand, they will continue to be shipped in minimum quantities to support 100 administrations per kit with this product. If you have sufficient supplies to support administration of the doses you order, we recommend opting out of receiving ancillary kits when placing orders for Moderna bivalent pediatric vaccines.
PDPH has some important updates to share regarding Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna-10 and Moderna-5 monovalent products for individuals aged 6 and older are set to expire in early April. There will not be any additional shelf-life extensions for these products.
The Moderna 6-11 and 12+ monovalent products ordered in the next few weeks will be short-dated, with expirations in early April.
Providers will need to order monovalent vaccines produced by Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (ages 12 and older) to begin and complete primary series for their patient populations.
PDPH will accept orders for Moderna monovalent vaccines through March 8 to support primary series vaccinations. After March 8, providers will need to order alternative vaccines from Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (aged 12 and older) for individuals seeking monovalent, primary series vaccines.
In anticipation of the upcoming expiration of Moderna’s monovalent vaccines for people ages 6 and older, providers should be aware that depending on the date of the first Moderna dose, the same product may not be available to complete the primary series. In this case, a different COVID-19 vaccine may be administered to complete the primary series at a minimum interval of 28 days from the last COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Please read CDC guidance on interchanging COVID-19 vaccines here.
The U.S. government has an ample supply of monovalent vaccines produced by Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (ages 12 and older) to begin and complete their primary series.
In summary:
Starting March 1, 2023, the COVID program will no longer be enrolling any new providers as we near the end of the public health emergency on May 11, 2023. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reach out again if there are any changes.
Reporting your vaccine stock in VaccineFinder is critical to the management of your inventory. This informs the public that you have vaccine available and assures them that the information they see in VaccineFinder represents your available vaccine selections. Help prevent vaccine inventory misinformation in your community by reporting inventory on hand. Zero out inventory in VaccineFinder when you no longer offer it at your site.
Providers who are enrolled in the COVID-19 Vaccination Program are required to report to VaccineFinder on a weekly basis. Please ensure that your inventory is being updated weekly even if no vaccine was administered during that timeframe. Lack of adherence to this requirement can result in your site’s next vaccine order being rejected. If your staff does not have access to the VaccineFinder system or has further questions, please reach out to covidproviders@phila.gov for further assistance.
On November 4, 2022, FDA licensed a new formulation of Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral (Rotarix, GSK). The new formulation comes as a liquid that does not require mixing or dilution. The new formulation (1.5mL x 10 applicators) will be available for VFC providers to order March 1, 2023. The original formulation (1mL x 10 vials and applicators) will be available until the supply is depleted or expires.To change the formulation that your site orders, complete the Vaccine Change Request Form. Our team will review your request and reply with next steps. We recommend that sites that are part of a system or are affiliated use the same vaccine presentations across sites to ensure continuity of care and help prevent administration errors.
Thank you for keeping Philadelphia safe and healthy. If you have any questions, please email vaccines@phila.gov.
What’s New With Pediatric Vaccines?
This month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices published updated immunization schedules for 2023. COVID-19 vaccine has been added to the routine pediatric immunization schedule for ages 6 months and up, among other important additions. There have been several recent changes to vaccine products for pediatric patients as well.
ACIP Immunization Schedule Changes
The changes in the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ pediatric immunizations schedule from 2022 to 2023 are:
The changes in the catch-up immunization schedule for 2023 are:
The changes in the immunization by medical indication schedule for 2023 are:
View the full MMWR here.
Product Changes
The changes in routine pediatric vaccine products from 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 are:
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers customizable reminder and recall resources for your practice to help ensure children are caught up on routine vaccinations.
If you are not already a Vaccines for Children (VFC) provider, enroll your practice in the VFC program using this guide.