Source: MedscapeDate: September 3, 2013By: Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS)  Hello, I'm Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I'm pleased to speak with you today, as part of the CDC Expert Commentary Series on Medscape. The CDC has had both encouraging and disappointing study results to share about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine this year. One report showed how well the vaccine is working, whereas the second showed how poorly we are doing at immunizing teenagers. In June, we reported that since the HPV vaccine was introduced in 2006, vaccine-type HPV prevalence has declined 56% among female teenagers 14-19 years of age. In July, we reported that HPV vaccination coverage did not increase at all from 2011 to 2012 in 13- to 17-year-old girls. Only one half of teen girls in the United States have received the first dose of this anticancer vaccine, and only one third have received the full protection provided by all 3 doses. However, our National Immunization Survey also showed that if HPV vaccine were given every time a preteen received another vaccine, the coverage rate for 1 dose of HPV vaccine would be more than 90%. The HPV vaccine is effective, and teenagers are in our offices, but we are missing opportunities to vaccinate (Figure 1). Figure 1. Actual vs missed opportunities to vaccinate teenage girls against HPV. Why are we missing opportunities to vaccinate teens against HPV? In the same survey that measured the HPV vaccine [...]