--- 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: 2026-02-22T09:45:27.604Z 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 ## 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/"},"headline":"Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine","datePublished":"2015-07-30T19:18:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:45:27.604Z","description":"Even though the HPV vaccine prevents cancer, the number of teens who get vaccinated is still lower than desired","url":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/","keywords":["Health Care","Teens","Sex","CDC","photography","HPV","STD","vaccine"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health-care/","name":"Health Care"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/","name":"Many Teens Are Still Not Getting The HPV Vaccine"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ai82XWJ8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-24T20:18:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3979160/teens-not-getting-hpv-vaccine/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```