Parent-Reported Provider Recommendation of Hpv Vaccination Among Minority Teenagers Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Findings from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2019-2021

Provider recommendation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among teenagers has steadily improved over the years, however, limited research has been conducted to examine if the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the positive trend in parent-reported provider recommendation among minority teenagers. This study was conducted to determine if there is an association between the pandemic and parent-reported provider recommendation of HPV vaccine among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics. This study also examines whether any changes in parent-reported provider recommendation in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 are associated with race/ethnicity. Using a cross-sectional design to examine data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (2019–2021), we estimated a moderation analysis and a logistic regression to model race-specific variation in parent-reported provider recommendation (n=50,739). We found that the odds of parent-reported provider recommendation were higher in 2020 (aOR=1.15 [1.03-1.29]) compared to 2019. We also found that Hispanic parents had lower odds (aOR=0.80 [0.71, 0.91]) of reporting receiving a recommendation compared to non-Hispanic white parents. Other variables–age, region, sex, insurance status, and poverty status–were all associated with parent-reported provider recommendation. The pandemic may have impacted the recommendation of HPV vaccines, therefore, more pandemic-resilient public health efforts are needed to improve parent and provider communication regarding HPV vaccination of teenagers.