Start two years earlier, finish on time: a simple timing change gets far more teens fully vaccinated against HPV

The HPV vaccine protects against several cancers, but many teenagers start it late and never finish the series. A trial across 31 children's clinics in Colorado and California tested a simple change: offering the first dose at age 9 or 10, instead of the usual 11 or 12. By their 13th birthday, 77.1% of children in the earlier-start group had begun the vaccine, compared with 67.0% in the usual group — and 61.6% had finished the full series, against 45.1%. Starting earlier did not just move the appointment; it meant far more children were fully protected before their teens. The findings were presented at IDWeek, the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: institutional program