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. 2022 Dec 11;10(12):2120.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines10122120.

Widening Disparities in Teen HPV Vaccinations during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from Veneto Region (Italy)

Luca Perin  1 , Alessandra Dal Zotto  1 , Marta Savio  2 , Antonio Stano  1 , Lorenzo Bulegato  1 , Luca Tribbia  1 , Roberta Donà  1 , Matilde Tomasi  1 , Silvia Fietta  1 , Antonio Ferro  3 , Vincenzo Baldo  4 , Mario Saugo  1 , Silvia Cocchio  4
Affiliations

Widening Disparities in Teen HPV Vaccinations during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from Veneto Region (Italy)

Luca Perin et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Introduction: In Local Health Unit 7, human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination campaigns for 12-year-olds have long been implemented by the vaccination services of the Department of Prevention. Due to the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic on these services, an emergency vaccination campaign was directly managed by primary care pediatricians (PCPs). An initial evaluation of this experience was conducted.

Materials and methods: Data on 12-year-olds assisted by PCPs belonging to the 2006 (pre-pandemic) and 2008 (pandemic) birth cohorts were extracted, along with HPV vaccination data. Health district, gender, citizenship, socioeconomic status, and PCPs were evaluated as possible influencing factors in a two-level logistic regression (second level: single PCP).

Results: The HPV vaccination gap between males and females increased significantly for the 2008 birth cohort compared to the 2006 birth cohort (11 vs. 4 percentage points). As for PCPs, the vaccination uptake range was 4-71% for the 2008 birth cohort vs. 32-85% for the 2006 cohort. The proportion of variance explained at the second level was overall equal to 9.7% for the 2008 cohort vs. 3.6% for the 2006 cohort.

Conclusions: The vaccination campaign carried out during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the HPV vaccination gaps among Health Districts, genders, and individual PCPs, probably due to a lack of homogeneity in professional practices and attitudes toward HPV vaccination. Catch-up interventions are required in the immediate term, while an equity-lens approach should be taken for reprogramming the vaccination campaign. Greater involvement of schools and families could ensure a more equitable approach and a better uptake.

Keywords: HPV; adolescent; vaccination coverage.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
First dose of HPV vaccine among 12-year-olds in 2006 and 2008 birth cohorts, assisted by primary care pediatricians (PCPs). Health Districts (HD) of Local Health Unit 7, Veneto Region. Whiskers: 95% confidence interval for the estimated mean.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Median odds ratios for first dose of HPV vaccine among 12-year-olds in 2006 and 2008 birth cohorts assisted by primary care pediatricians, adjusted for gender and citizenship. Health Districts of Local Health Unit 7, Veneto region.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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