More than a third of US adults are unfamiliar with HPV, and more than 70% are unaware it causes oral cancers.
Uptake of the Tdap and MenACWY vaccines increased among 13- to 17-year-olds in 2024, while HPV vaccine coverage remained unchanged for the third straight year.
The researchers say their study results strongly indicate population immunity.
Increases in HPV vaccination rates were lower than expected.
Of the 19.9 million children who either have no vaccines or only partial DTP vaccination coverage, 55% live in 10 countries.
Much less improvement was seen among participants who were Black or lived in rural or disadvantaged areas.
Results point to a need to increase HPV vaccine uptake and screening, the authors say.
Worldwide HPV vaccination coverage is only 27% for girls and women with the first dose and 20% for full doses, study finds.
Positive provider attitude and self-efficacy toward screening, larger institution size, recent training, and college policy were tied to higher screening rates.
Relative to HPV-negative participants, those with HPV had a 40% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and twice the risk of coronary artery disease.
