{"id":16998,"date":"2026-01-20T09:51:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=16998"},"modified":"2026-01-20T09:51:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:51:29","slug":"richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-encourage-vaccination-and-screening-to-protect-against-cervical-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-encourage-vaccination-and-screening-to-protect-against-cervical-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>January 20, 2026 <strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov<\/p>\n<p><strong>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>January is<\/em> <em>Cervical Health Awareness Month<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>RICHMOND, Va.<\/strong> \u2013 In honor of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nccc-online.org\/cervical-health-awareness-month\/\">Cervical Health Awareness Month<\/a>, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage community members to take action against cervical cancer. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/hpv\/about\/cancers-caused-by-hpv.html\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/hpv\/\">human papilloma virus<\/a> (HPV) causes more than nine out of every 10 cases of cervical cancer. Almost all cervical cancer can be prevented by HPV vaccination.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Parents and guardians should make sure their children have their school-required <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/hpv\/\">HPV vaccination<\/a> prior to starting 7th grade.\n<ul>\n<li>Parents and guardians can make appointments for school-required immunizations with their primary care provider, a local pharmacy, or at an in-school clinic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2843501?guestAccessKey=f786e491-32e8-4673-a928-9af3924fefc7&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=010526\">Women ages 21 and older<\/a> should talk to their doctor about cervical cancer screening.\n<ul>\n<li>The United States Department of Health and Human Services <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2843501?guestAccessKey=f786e491-32e8-4673-a928-9af3924fefc7&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=010526\">recently approved<\/a> a self-administered test for cervical cancer for women aged 30-65 years at average risk. This test can be completed at home or at a doctor\u2019s office. Insurance plans will be required to cover the full cost of self-collected HPV screenings by Jan. 1, 2027, with no cost to consumers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cMaking sure children get the HPV vaccine can help reduce their risk of developing cervical and other cancers,\u201d said Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Director Elaine Perry, M.D. \u201cWe encourage our community to protect their health and the health of their children through vaccination and regular screenings for cervical and other cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>HPV Vaccination<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cochranelibrary.com\/cdsr\/doi\/10.1002\/14651858.CD015363.pub2\/full\">systematic review<\/a> published in the Cochrane Library, the HPV vaccination:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>reduces the incidence of cervical cancer by around 80% in people vaccinated at or before age of 16;<\/li>\n<li>reduces the incidence of high\u2010grade cervical pre\u2010cancer lesions, as well as anogenital warts;<\/li>\n<li>is not associated with an increased risk of long\u2010term side effects or infertility;<\/li>\n<li>is more effective when given at or before the age of 16 years, before onset of sexual activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In November 2024, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/article-abstract\/2827212\">research letter<\/a> stating that studies from 2022 and 2023 indicated a 12 percent per year decline (overall, 65 percent reduction) in cervical cancer incidence from 2012 to 2019 among US women younger than 25 years who likely benefited from HPV vaccination.<\/p>\n<p>A new nationwide cohort <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanpub\/article\/PIIS2468-2667(25)00297-X\/fulltext\">study<\/a> from Sweden suggests that widespread HPV vaccination could substantially reduce the risk of precancerous lesions even among people who never received the vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>HPV vaccination has been recommended for routine use in U.S. women since June 2006.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Virginia, the HPV vaccine is required for all students, regardless of sex, prior to entry into 7<sup>th<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Children who receive both doses of the vaccine before age 13 will receive the most protection.<\/li>\n<li>Children who receive their first dose at the age of 15 or older will require three doses to complete the series.<\/li>\n<li>The HPV vaccine is also recommended for people 26 years of age who did not start or complete the vaccination at an earlier age.<\/li>\n<li>HPV vaccine recommendation for persons 27-45 years of age is based on shared clinical decision making.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/datamanagement\/hpv\/\">According to data from VDH<\/a>, as of Jan. 13, 2026, 74.1 percent of 13-year-olds in Richmond City and 73.3 percent of 13-year-olds in Henrico County have received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine series. Statewide, 76 percent of 13-year-olds have received least one dose of the HPV vaccine series.<\/p>\n<p>As of Jan. 13, 2026, 47.4 percent of 18-year-olds in Richmond City and 70.4 percent of 18-year-olds in Henrico County have received the complete HPV vaccine series. Statewide, 62.7 percent of 18-year-olds have received the complete HPV vaccine series.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HPV and Cervical Cancer Data<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/cancer\/hpv\/cases.html\">CDC<\/a>, HPV causes six different kinds of cancer, including almost all (91 percent) of cervical cancers. HPV also causes 70 percent of head and neck (oropharyngeal) cancers.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov\/quick-profiles\/index.php?statename=virginia\">National Cancer Institute\u2019s State Cancer Profile<\/a>, the rate of new cases of cervical cancer in Virginia has been decreasing steadily from 2017 to 2021. The rates of new cases in Richmond and Henrico were somewhat lower than the rate in Virginia during the same time period.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Screening and Care for Cervical Cancer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) offers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/every-womans-life\/\">Every Woman\u2019s Life<\/a> (EWL), a public health program that\u00a0helps uninsured, income-eligible women gain access to free breast and cervical cancer screening services. Screening and early detection reduce death rates, improve treatment options, and greatly increase rates of survival. If a woman enrolled in EWL is diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer she may be eligible for Medicaid to pay for treatment. Community members can use this link to find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/every-womans-life\/find-a-screening-program-near-you\/\">EWL provider<\/a> near them.<\/p>\n<p>To be eligible for EWL, a woman must be\u00a0a Virginia resident\u00a0between the\u00a0ages of 18-64,\u00a0meet federal income guidelines and be uninsured. Women 18-39 must be symptomatic or be determined to be high risk for breast and\/or cervical cancer to be eligible.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/rhhd.gov\/connect-pc\">rhhd.gov\/connect-pc<\/a> to locate primary care providers in the Richmond and Henrico area. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/rhhd.gov\/childhoodvax\">rhhd.gov\/childhoodvax<\/a> for more information on school-required immunizations. For information about RHHD\u2019s clinical health resources and HPV vaccination schedule, call 804-205-3500 or visit <a href=\"https:\/\/rhhd.gov\">rhhd.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Follow RHHD on Instagram (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/richmondcity_hd\">@richmondcity_hd<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RichmondHenricoHealthDistricts\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em># # #<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January 20, 2026 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer January is Cervical Health Awareness Month RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 In honor of Cervical Health Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage community members to take action against cervical cancer. According [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[196,348,349,682],"class_list":["post-16998","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-dr-elaine-perry","tag-hpv","tag-hpv-vaccine","tag-richmond-and-henrico-health-districts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-encourage-vaccination-and-screening-to-protect-against-cervical-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 20, 2026 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourage Vaccination and Screening to Protect Against Cervical Cancer January is Cervical Health Awareness Month RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 In honor of Cervical Health Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage community members to take action against cervical cancer. 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