Indiana ranks second to last in teens vaccinated for HPV - KPCnews.com

KENDALLVILLE — Public attention seems to be focused on one vaccine in particular — one for COVID-19. However, a recent study is suggesting that there’s another vaccine, which is already available, that Hoosiers could be utilizing more.

In a study by WalletHub titled 2020’s States that Vaccinate the Most, Indiana ranks 38 out of 51 states (including D.C.) for all vaccines, but second to last in the number of teens vaccinated for Human Papillomavirus, or HPV.

Out of teenagers aged 13-17 with an up-to-date HPV vaccine, Indiana ranks only above Mississippi.

Medical professionals are seeing this trend in northeast Indiana, as well.

“The HPV vaccine is definitely something that is very misunderstood,” Noble County Department of Health Public Health Nurse Cheryl Munson said.

Munson said many have inaccurate and scary information about the HPV vaccine. And because it’s not required for kids to attend K-12 school, parents are sometimes inclined to opt out of the vaccine for their child.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health, HPV is the most commonly transmitted STI in the United States, but most people with it do not show symptoms and don’t know they are infected, and then may pass it along to sexual partners.

HPV is so common, in fact, that about one in four people in the United States have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

And, about 14 million people, including teenagers, contract HPV each year.

There is no treatment for HPV once someone is infected, and later in life, it can cause multiple cancers.

In fact, nearly all cases of cervical cancer in women are caused by HPV. Every year in the United States, about 35,000 people are estimated to be affected by cancer caused by HPV, according to the CDC.

The HPV vaccine can prevent all this, however.

The ISDH recommends the vaccine be given to both boys and girls who are about 11 or 12 years old, but it can be given to anyone from ages nine to 45.

The vaccine is most effective when it’s administered before someone’s first sexual contact, according to the ISDH.

And, according to the CDC, the HPV vaccine does not lose effectiveness over time, and it could prevent more than 90% of cancers caused by HPV.

Despite what we know now about the good the HPV vaccine can do, Munson said it was presented to parents in an incorrect light when it first came about in 2006.

“The way it was marketed from the very get go was the huge problem with the HPV vaccine,” Munson said.

First, thinking of their 11 year old child becoming sexually active is a touchy subject for some parents, and the vaccine was originally marketed just to prevent the STI, not all of the cancers it can cause.

“Fortunately, we have learned so much more about this vaccine in the past 10 years,” Munson said.

Another reason why parents might not get children vaccinated for HPV is because it’s both not required for school, and because it’s administered later in a child’s life.

Munson described the scenario every parent sees when having a baby — early on in the child’s life, vaccines happen often, and many are required for school, so compliance with them in some parents is almost automatic.

But, later, when immunizations are more sparsely given in a child’s life, a parent might not immediately spring for one that isn’t required for school.

“When you go from kindergarten to sixth grade with a child not needing more than flu shots every fall, you kind of fall out of the immunization schedule,” Munson said.

Munson chalks up low immunization numbers in Hoosier teens not to confidence in the vaccine, but a lack of education surrounding it.

“I don’t think it’s about hesitancy,” she said.

Dr. Tony Pechin, LaGrange County Health Officer, said in his area, reluctance is partially due to a religious objection to the HPV vaccine and that health insurance might not cover it.

That said, however, both medical professionals recommend people vaccinate their children for HPV.

“It’s a no-brainer, wonderful vaccine. Safe. Effective,” Pechin said. “It’s obviously beneficial, and it reduces the risk of cervical cancer.”

Munson reiterated that the HPV vaccine is 99% safe, with a rare exception for people who may be allergic to the vaccine. She’s made sure her own daughter and nieces and nephews are vaccinated for HPV.

Data about Indiana’s HPV vaccinations does not necessarily correlate to how confident Hoosiers feel about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, medical professionals said.

There’s too many variables with that vaccine to predict how people will respond to it — and besides, there’s already a way to halt the spread of the virus.

“I would tell people to focus more on wearing their masks,” Pechin said.