Only about half of girls are getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at the recommended age, according to a new study.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease among women and believed to be the most common cause of cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends females to begin getting their first dose of the HPV vaccine when they are 11 or 12-years old, as it's the mose effective before they start having sex. The vaccine is administered in three doses.
The vaccine also prevents about 90 percent of genital warts cases, reported Health Day.
"Rates of HPV infection increase significantly every year for young people between 14 and 24, so vaccination at a young age is very important," team leader Dr. Mahbubur Rahman in a University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said in a news release.
It's also believed that the longer a female waits to get the vaccine, the less effective it may be.
In a 2013 survey only 57 percent of girls received the vaccine at the appropriate age, reported the CDC.
"It's important that parents and health care providers are aware of the importance of early HPV vaccination to ensure that girls receive this vaccination at the CDC's recommended age," Rahman said in the study.
The study was recently published in the journal Vaccine.
