Cervical Health Awareness Month – Protect Your Patients with HPV Vaccine

Hello Immunization Partners,

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month and MDHHS encourages you to protect your patients with on-time vaccination of HPV vaccine. Cervical cancer was once a leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. Today, HPV vaccines and cervical cancer screening have made it one of the most preventable cancers. Still, according to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 14,100 women in the U.S. received a diagnosis of cervical cancer and nearly 4,300 died from the disease last year alone.

More than 9 of every 10 cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. Almost all cervical cancer can be prevented by HPV vaccination. HPV vaccination is recommended at age 11 or 12 but can begin at age 9. While on-time vaccination of HPV vaccine by age 13 provides the best protection, everyone through age 26 years should get HPV vaccine if they were not fully vaccinated already. Further, some adults age 27 through 45 years who were not already vaccinated might choose to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and possible benefits of vaccination for them. HPV vaccination provides safe, effective, and long-lasting protection against HPV cancers. To learn more, visit https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/.

Global Initiative Against HPV and Cervical Cancer and other 2023 sponsors will host Us vs. HPV Prevention Week, a series of webinars, social media campaigns, local events and more to promote awareness about HPV and HPV-related diseases. The webinars will take place at 12pm EST on January 23-27 and will spotlight collaborative efforts to improve health care equity.  Register at https://www.giahc.org/us-vs-hpv/#savethedate  

Thank you for all that you do to protect Michiganders from HPV-related cancers with on-time vaccination of HPV vaccine!

Alyssa Strouse, MPH
Adult and Adolescent Immunization Coordinator
MDHHS Division of Immunization