Mission HPV Cancer Free Texas

The HPV vaccination is known to prevent 6 types of cancers. The America Cancer Society’s Mission: HPV Cancer Free Texas boasts an audacious goal: to increase the HPV vaccination series completion rate in Texas from 40% (2017) to 80% by 2026. During the pandemic, all childhood vaccination rates declined. Through targeted funding from Texas Rural Funder member Lyda Hill Philanthropies, health systems in North Texas – across 26 predominantly rural counties – were the only locations in the nation to see an increase in both HPV vaccination initiation (7.7 percentage points) and completion rates (6.5 percentage points). The American Cancer Society seeks to replicate the success in North Texas in other areas of the state and expand essential components of this program.