More girls are getting the HPV vaccine — but it's just not enough, according to the CDC.
Reuters reports that today, the CDC announced #teen vaccination numbers for 2013: 37.6 percent of girls 13 to 17 got the full three doses of Gardasil. That's just a minuscule increase from 2012, when it was 33.4 percent. "It's frustrating to report almost the same HPV vaccination coverage levels among girls for another year," Dr. Anne Schuchat (director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases) told Reuters.
The CDC hoped to achieve an 80 percent rate by this point. The goal isn't merely to protect individuals, but also to achieve that sweet, sweet herd immunity. But of course, the vaccine has been plagued by a) the usual safety anxiety and b) fears that it'll turn America's virginal daughters into a bunch of sex-crazed succubi, boinking willy-nilly. (Science says nope, that's nonsense.)
The bright spot: boys vaccinated jumped from 6.8 to 13.9 percent. Be safe out there, kids!
Photo via AP Images.