COVID-19 didn’t just shut down life as we know it. It also brought vaccine administration to a near screeching halt. 

USF College of Public Health (COPH) professor and associate dean of research and practice, Dr. Ellen Daley, along with doctoral students Heather Owens, Morgan Richardson Cayama, Jill Desch and Kelli Agrawal have been examining COVID’s effect on vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in this country and the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of oral cancer. The CDC recommends that vaccination start, ideally, when a child is 11 or 12, although younger kids, older teens and young- to mid- adults can receive the vaccine as well.

Daley’s team reviewed data provided by the CDC that found HPV vaccinations were down 73 percent in the U.S. by mid-March 2020 compared to the month before. And vaccinations stayed down throughout the summer when HPV and other vaccinations tend to peak. In fact, Daley said, nearly 40 percent of adolescent vaccinations are given between June and August, when many kids are on a break from school and parents find it most convenient to schedule doctors’ visits.

“We were prompted to look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HPV vaccination for a few reasons,” Owens said. “For one, research has shown that the pandemic and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has led to an increase in vaccine hesitancy and a mistrust in science and the health system. This hesitancy has spilled over into other vaccinations, including childhood vaccinations like HPV.”

According to Daley, “Fear of COVID infection and lockdowns/stay-at-home orders also meant that some individuals avoided or delayed seeing a health care provider or getting medical care. This includes missed pediatric visits for kids where vaccinations like HPV are often administered, resulting in missed opportunities to get vaccinated.”

How to make up for lost time?

Daley and her team culled through the research and recommendations to highlight some steps that will help kids get back on track for their vaccinations. They include:

• Making it a priority that children and adolescents get at least one dose of the HPV vaccine (depending on age, the vaccine is given in two to three doses). One dose appears to give short- and medium-term protection.
• Having dental providers discuss, recommend and even administer the vaccine.
• Giving the vaccine to mothers under the age of 27 during the postpartum period. The shots can be administered during well visits for their children.
• Utilizing school-based health clinics to deliver the vaccine to students.
• Encouraging health care providers to recommend that parents vaccinate their kids (Richardson Cayama pointed to research showing health care providers may feel uncomfortable talking about sex or sexually transmitted infections with their patients).

According to Agrawal, it will take a while for childhood vaccinations to recover from the lockdowns and vaccine hesitancy that COVID-19 brought. But, depending on the vaccine, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

“Pre-pandemic vaccine rates are predicted to come back as early as winter 2023 or as late as fall 2031 (for Tdap, meningococcus and HPV vaccines),” Desch added. “And certain vaccines, such as the measles vaccine, in younger age groups are rebounding quicker than in older age groups.”

Story by Donna Campisano for USF College of Public Health