HPV Vaccination Coverage: Problems and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is highly prevalent, and high-risk HPV strains can cause cervical, oropharyngeal, anal, vaginal, penile, and vulvar cancers. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) prevalence has only been rising. Moreover, OPCs are 2–5 times more common among men than women. HPV vaccines are safe and effective and can prevent over 90% of these cancers, but their uptake is suboptimal. Thus, improving HPV vaccination is essential to reduce mortality and morbidity due to HPV-associated cancers and related inequities.

There are various national and global objectives aligned to increase HPV vaccination rates. As a result, these have seen improvement over the years. However, they still remain significantly lower than regularly required vaccines, pointing to unique challenges specific to the HPV vaccine. This Special Issue therefore aims to discuss these challenges at various levels across settings, geography, and populations, as well as identify strategies to improve HPV vaccine availability, distribution, and uptake.

Dr. Shillpa Naavaal
Dr. Zheng Quan Toh
Dr. Paul Licciardi
Guest Editors

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• HPV vaccine
• vaccine uptake
• vaccination strategies