Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts a national survey to provide an estimate of vaccination rates among adolescents ages 13 to 17 years. The results for 2021, published recently, illustrate the progress that we’ve made and the areas in which improvement is still needed; notably, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is an example of both.1
First, what’s recommended? The CDC recommends the following vaccines at age 11 to 12 years: tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap); HPV vaccine series (2 doses if the first dose is received prior to age 15 years; 3 doses if the first dose is received at age 15 years or older); and quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY). A second (booster) dose of MenACWY is recommended at age 16 years. Adolescents should also receive an annual influenza vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine series.2
For adolescents not fully vaccinated in childhood, catch-up vaccination is recommended for hepatitis A (HepA); hepatitis B (HepB); measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); and varicella (VAR).2
How are we doing? In 2021, 89.6% of adolescents had received ≥ 1 Tdap dose and 89.0% had received ≥ 1 MenACWY dose; both these rates remained stable from the year before. For HPV vaccine, 76.9% had received ≥ 1 dose (an increase of 1.8 percentage points from 2020); 61.7% were HPV vaccine “up to date” (an increase of 3.1 percentage points). The teen HPV vaccination rate has increased slowly but progressively since the first recommendation for routine HPV vaccination was made for females in 2006 and for males in 2011.1
Among those age 17 years, coverage with ≥ 2 MenACWY doses was 60.0% (an increase of 5.6 percentage points from 2020). Coverage was 85% for ≥ 2 HepA doses (an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 2020) and remained stable at > 90% for each of the following: ≥ 2 doses of MMR, ≥ 3 doses of HepB, and both VAR doses.1
Keeping the momentum. As a country, we continue to make progress at increasing vaccination rates among US adolescents—but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Family physicians should check vaccine status at each clinical encounter and encourage parents and caregivers to schedule future wellness and vaccine visits for these young patients. This may be especially important among adolescents who were due for and missed a vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic.