Investor Presentaiton
Percentage of 15 year olds in Western Australia
that completed their HPV vaccination series
Rationale
Outcome 2
This indicator measures uptake of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination
among youth, which is the most effective public health intervention for reducing
the risk of developing HPV-related illnesses, including cancer.
HPV is a common virus that affects both females and males and is associated
with HPV-related illnesses including cancer of the cervix. HPV vaccination can
significantly decrease the chances of people developing HPV-related illnesses.
As HPV is primarily sexually transmitted both males and females should have the
HPV vaccine, preferably before they become sexually active. Providing vaccination
at 14 years and under is also known to increase antibody persistence.
The HPV vaccine is provided free in schools to all males and females in year 7
under the Western Australian school-based immunisation program. General
practitioners, community health clinics and central immunisation clinics also offer
vaccination to maximise coverage of older adolescents or those who opted out of
the school program.
This indicator measures the effectiveness of the Western Australian health
system's delivery of vaccination programs and health promotion strategies in
maximising the proportion of adolescents who have completed the HPV series.
Target
The target for 2022 for the percentage of 15 year old Western Australian males
and females that completed their HPV vaccination series is 80 per cent or above.
Improved or maintained performance is demonstrated by a result equal to or
above the target.
Results
In 2022, 79.2 per cent of 15 year old males and 81.4 per cent of 15 year old females
had completed their HPV vaccination series (see Figure 15). This is within the
immunisation coverage target of 80 per cent and comparable with prior year results.
The HPV vaccine coverage rate in Aboriginal youth aged 15 years (66.8 per cent)
remains below the target and low in comparison to non-aboriginal youth at 81.1
per cent (see Table 20). Vaccine coverage by Aboriginal youth living in metropolitan
or regional WA are comparable at 66.0 per cent vs. 67.5 per cent respectively.
The school-based immunisation program in 2022 continued to be impacted by
COVID-19 related closures. Additionally, messaging to Aboriginal families was to
encourage staying at home during the pandemic, which may have affected school
attendance during this period. As with childhood immunisations, vaccine hesitancy
and vaccine fatigue are an emerging issue affecting Aboriginal communities.
In 2023, the required dose of HPV has reduced to a single dose from a two-dose
schedule. This will allow the school-based immunisation program to undertake
catch-up visits in place of scheduled visits for the second HPV dose.
Figure 15: Percentage of 15 year old Western Australians that completed their HPV
vaccination series, by gender, 2018 to 2022
15 year olds who completed their
HPV vaccination series (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Females
81.3
81.8
83.5
80.9
81.4
Males
79.8
81.2
82.0
80.2
79.2
Target
80
80
80
80
80
< 99
>
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