Adolescents Who Have Undergone Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Are More Likely to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine

PURPOSE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) and COVID-19 vaccination are both recommended for adolescents of ages 12–17. In May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices allowed the two vaccines to be administered concurrently. METHODS: We identified adolescents of ages 12–17 using electronic health records from a large integrated delivery system. We assessed associations between socio-demographic characteristics and uptake of HPV vaccination and COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the cumulative proportion of adolescents who obtained a COVID-19 vaccine over time by HPV vaccination status. RESULTS: We identified 40,819 adolescents; 65% had received any COVID-19 vaccination, and 79% had received any HPV vaccination. Adolescents who had initiated HPV vaccination had about 4-fold greater odds of having obtained a COVID-19 vaccine than those who had not (odds ratio = 4.02, 95% confidence interval = 3.81, 4.24). DISCUSSION: Patterns of vaccination uptake suggest possible advantages to co-promotion of adolescent vaccines.