Policy support for expanding the adolescent vaccine school mandate in Pennsylvania to include the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Approximately 27,000 men and women are affected by human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer every year. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) routinely recommend that adolescents receive HPV, tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis [Tdap]) and meningococcal (MCV) vaccines at age 11-12 years. Although the CDC and professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics make national vaccine recommendations, according to the National Vaccine Information Center, it is the responsibility of "state health departments to make and enforce vaccine mandates for school entry.