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CDC recommends preteens receive only two HPV vaccinations
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The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is recommending younger adolescents aged 11 to 12 years receive only two doses of HPV vaccine 6 months or more apart for preventive purposes against viral-causing cancers and infections.
The recommendation came as a joint decision from the CDC and ACIP after reviewed data from clinical trials showed younger adolescents aged 9 to 14 years experienced a similar or higher immune response to the vaccine after two doses than young adults who received three doses.
Older adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 26 years should still receive three doses if they began receiving the series later than 11 to 14 years.
“Safe, effective and long-lasting protection against HPV cancers with two visits instead of three means more Americans will be protected from cancer,” CDC director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a press release. “This recommendation will make it simpler for parents to get their children protected in time.”
On October 7, the FDA approved a two-dose schedule for 9-valent HPV vaccine (Gardasil 9, Merck) for children aged 9 to 14 years. The CDC urged implementation of the two-dose schedule to protect young adolescents from HPV cancers and infections and will provide guidance to families, health care providers and insurers on the change in recommendation, according to an MMWR report.