According to the report, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012 only about one-third of 13- to 17-year-old girls in the U.S. received all three recommended doses of HPV vaccine. These rates fall considerably short of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020 goal of having 80 percent of 13- to 15-year-old girls fully vaccinated against HPV. Immunization rates for boys are even lower - less than 7 percent of boys ages 13-17
completed the vaccine series in 2012 (although the vaccine was approved for males more recently than for females).

The CDC estimates that increasing HPV vaccination rates from current levels to 80 percent would prevent an additional 53,000 future cervical cancer cases in the U.S. among girls who now are 12 years of age or younger, over the course of their lifetimes. Thousands of cases of other HPV associated cancers in the U.S., a growing proportion of which will occur in males, also likely would be prevented within the same timeframe.

The Panel's report outlines three critical goals that must be achieved to increase HPV vaccine uptake

- Reducing missed clinical opportunities to recommend/administer HPV vaccines; Increasing parents'/adolescents' acceptance of HPV vaccines; and Maximizing access to HPV vaccination services - with the ultimate goal being completion of the full three-dose series by all age-eligible adolescents.

According to the CDC, missed clinical opportunities are the most important reason why the U.S. has not achieved high rates of HPV vaccine uptake. The Panel recommends targeted efforts, including communications strategies for physicians and other relevant health professionals, to increase dramatically the proportion of health providers who strongly recommend HPV vaccines for age-eligible adolescents. t