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Youth

HPV Vaccine Uptake Hits Lowest Rate in Almost a Decade in Australia

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Australian teenagers have seen the lowest percentage of HPV vaccine coverage in nearly a decade, with only 81% of teenage girls and 78% of teenage boys receiving the vaccine by the age of 15. As a result, experts are urging teenagers to get a catch-up vaccine if they've missed the human papillomavirus shot, citing the need to meet the goal of extending HPV vaccination coverage to at least 90% in all adolescents aged 15 years by 2030. Christine Walters, a cervical cancer survivor, is taking the campaign personally, believing that if a vaccine had been available when she was young, she wouldn't now be fighting this battle.

Key Takeaways:

  • The proportion of Australian teenagers who've had the HPV vaccine is the lowest it's been in almost 10 years, with only 81% of teenage girls and 78% of teenage boys receiving the vaccine by the age of 15.
  • Experts believe the decline in vaccination rates is due to school attendance dropping since the pandemic, as well as young people from Indigenous communities or with parents who have poor literacy or English skills not being aware of the vaccine.
  • The Cancer Council's Associate Professor Megan Smith is urging teenagers and parents to catch up on the free vaccine with a GP or pharmacist.
  • Christine Walters, a cervical cancer survivor, is taking the campaign personally, believing that if a vaccine had been available when she was young, she wouldn't now be fighting this battle.
  • The low uptake of the HPV vaccine is on the agenda of the Federal Government's recent National Immunisation Strategy.
  • Dr Frank Beard, Associate Director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, says that to achieve cervical cancer elimination targets, Australia needs to extend HPV vaccination coverage to at least 90% in all adolescents aged 15 years by 2030.

Statistics:

  • 81% of teenage girls have received the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age.
  • 78% of teenage boys have received the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age.
  • 70% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teens have had the jab by 15 years of age.
  • The national goal is to extend HPV vaccination coverage to at least 90% in all adolescents aged 15 years by 2030.

Sources:

  • [Transcript]
  • Caitlin Gribbin, National Health Equity reporter
  • [Source not explicitly mentioned in the text; "Transcript" link provided does not contain specific source information]

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