Study: HPV rates down dramatically due to vaccines

A nurse gives a person a vaccine.
(Image credit: iStock)

Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they've found that since the CDC started recommending the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination a decade ago, the prevalence rate has dropped 64 percent for girls ages 14 to 19 and 34 percent for women ages 20 to 24.

Researchers for the study, released Monday in the journal Pediatrics, compared data from two periods: 2003 to 2006, the year the CDC recommended the vaccination for young women, and 2009 to 2012. Although the vaccination rate is still low in the United States, researchers say this is the first time a study has shown evidence that the vaccination is having an effect on women in their 20s, The Guardian reports. "As women who got the vaccine when they were younger move into these older age groups, we should continue to see a continued decrease," lead author Dr. Lauri E. Markowitz said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.