New Jersey Department of Health

PO Box 360
Trenton, NJ 08625-0360

For Release:
January 30, 2019

Shereef Elnahal
Commissioner

For Further Information Contact:
Office of Communications
(609) 984-7160

Media Advisory: New Jersey Department of Health Convenes Stakeholders to Discuss HPV in NJ

On Jan. 31, the New Jersey Department of Health will hold a Human Papillomavirus (HPV) meeting as part of its Partnering for a Health New Jersey initiative.  Speakers will discuss the epidemiology of HPV infections, current immunization coverage rates, and key steps toward prevention.

The meeting will convene stakeholders who are committed to reducing the incidence of, and mortality from HPV-associated cancers in New Jersey.

HPV is a group of common viruses that can affect both males and females. HPV can be spread by skin-to-skin contact during any type of sexual activity with an infected person, even when no symptoms are present.

The event will take place on Thursday, Jan. 31, 10 a.m. at Cooper University Health Care, One Cooper Plaza, Roberts Pavilion 1014, Camden, NJ.

The Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Integrated Health Deborah Hartel will join Cooper University Health Care Executive Chairman and CEO Adrienne Kirby to deliver opening remarks.  The keynote address of the meeting will be delivered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH.

As part of this event, the Department will recognize the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic at the DePaul Center, which has been named the HPV Vaccine is Cancer Prevention Champion Award for outstanding efforts to protect adolescents from cancers caused by HPV. The clinic is part of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. The Pediatric Primary Care Clinic uses a team-based approach to provide coordinated, patient-centered care. The clinic emphasizes that the HPV vaccine is a vital tool in the prevention of HPV-associated cancers. Additionally, the staff have implemented reminder/recall systems, repeated recommendations, and patient rewards to facilitate completion of the vaccine series. These efforts have led to vaccine series completion rates of 81 percent among 13-15-year-old male and female patients in the past two years.

According to the 2017 National Immunization Survey (NIS), 53.8 percent of females and 45.5 percent of males ages 13-17 years in New Jersey are considered up-to-date with HPV vaccination, which is similar to the national average of (49 percent) of adolescents.

HPV vaccine is important because it protects against cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV is a very common virus; nearly 80 million people are currently infected in the United States. Every year in the United States, 33,700 women and men are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV infection. HPV vaccination could prevent more than 90% of these cancers—about 31,000—from occurring.

Between 2011-2015, about 1,900 new cases of HPV-associated cancer occurred each year among New Jersey residents.  Compared to other states, New Jersey has one of the lowest incidence rates of HPV-associated cancers with an age-adjusted rate of 11.29 per 100,000 for all HPV-associated cancers combined. The most common HPV-associated cancer for women was cervical cancer. The most common HPV-associated cancer for men was oral and pharyngeal cancer.

The Department promotes adolescent immunizations through various initiatives including Protect Me With 3+, an annual poster and video contest in collaboration with the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. The contest aims to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations and the annual flu vaccine by educating preteens, teenagers, and parents.

To learn more about HPV, visit: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/hpv.shtml

NOTE TO EDITORS: Members of the media attending the event should meet in the Roberts Pavilion/Main hospital lobby (facing MLK Blvd.) for escort to the meeting location. Cooper University Health Care onsite contact day of the event: Wendy Marano, Public Relations Manager, Cooper University Health Care, 856-904-1688.

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