January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Join the Minnesota Department of Health’s immunization and SAGE cervical cancer screening programs in promoting on-time and catch-up Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for adolescents as well as routine cervical cancer screening for adults through social media.
HPV infection can cause 6 types of cancer, including most cervical cancers. In Minnesota, more than half of adolescents have received their first dose of HPV vaccine by their 13th birthday but less than a third of them have completed the series. Encourage families with 11- to 12-year-olds to schedule a vaccine appointment for HPV vaccination along with other routine vaccines they need, including COVID-19 vaccine. Older adolescents may have missed HPV vaccination during the pandemic.
Explore statewide, county-level and metro county zip-code-level adolescent vaccination coverage data through interactive tables and maps at the Minnesota Public Health Data Access: Immunizations.
For more information on strategies for improving HPV vaccination rates in your clinic, visit For Health Care Providers Serving Adolescents or check out the MNAAP webinar recorded by Immunization Work Group Co-Chair Garrett Jones, MD, FAAP, “The Anti-Cancer Shot: Addressing HPV Vaccine Hesitancy.”
