--- title: Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine description: New federal data shows that despite public health efforts, the number of teen boys and girls receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine only increased slightly in 2014, the latest data available. canonical: https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-30T19:18:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:02.715Z article:section: Health og:title: Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine og:description: New federal data shows that despite public health efforts, the number of teen boys and girls receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine only increased slightly in 2014, the latest data available. og:url: https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine twitter:description: New federal data shows that despite public health efforts, the number of teen boys and girls receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine only increased slightly in 2014, the latest data available. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1e54dc97-f036-49f4-b991-77a346efb7b1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 30, 2015 7:18 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 30, 2015 7:18 PM UTC New federal data shows that despite public health efforts, the number of teen boys and girls receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine only increased slightly in 2014. The [new numbers](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6429a3.htm?s%5Fcid=mm6429a3%5Fw) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Thursday show that four out of 10 adolescent girls and six out of 10 adolescent boys have not started the HPV vaccination series. Without vaccination, young people are at a greater risk of developing HPV-related cancers down the line. Overall, 60% of girls in the age group and 42% of boys have received one or more doses of the vaccine which the CDC reports is 3% higher for girls and 8% higher for boys compared to data from 2013. Currently it is recommended by the CDC that girls and boys ages 11 to 12 get the HPV vaccine. While the new numbers are an improvement from prior years, medical experts would like to see greater HPV vaccine use, especially since the vaccine prevents cancer. HPV is not an uncommon infection. [Other data](http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm#a7) from the CDC shows sexually active men and women will get at least one type of the virus at some point during their lives. Each year around 27,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with HPV-caused cancer. “We are missing crucial opportunities to protect the next generation from cancers caused by HPV,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in a statement. ## Transcript So, our recent report claimed that a 2004 study withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African American boys. No surprise, the anti- vaccine crowd considered this a big win. But again and always, they're wrong. Here's why. [ MUSIC ] First, the subjects excluded from the study had no birth certificates available. Meaning data on their mother's age, race and more could not be confirmed. And that information was vital for the work the investigators were doing, More important, the people criticizing the research make the familiar mistake of confusing associated with causation. While it's true that the study did find a slightly higher rate of autism among some kids vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age, it's almost certain that those children were already autistic and were vaccinated later as part of a basic health requirement for attending special education program [ MUSIC ] programs. If you join the Army and get a mandatory crewcut before basic training, you don't then conclude that military service causes baldness. Finally, the narrator of a disgraceful web video spreading the rumors about the study is Andrew Wakefield. The British researcher whose fraudulent 1998 paper falsely linking vaccines to autism got the entire got the entire anti- vaccine mess started. Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine revoked in the UK. And is hardly in a position to be offering opinions on anything at all. So for the billionth time, vaccines are safe, effective and vitally important. Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can kill. 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