To analyse the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination status among age-eligible girls in Fujian Province, China, during 2022–2023; to assess the relationship between vaccination rates and economic levels; and to provide scientific evidence to advance HPV vaccination programmes. The subjects of this study were girls aged 13-14.5 years in Fujian Province, China, from 2022 to 2023. The HPV vaccination information was collected from the Chinese Immunization Information System. The data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and per capita disposable income were from the official statistical yearbook of Fujian Province. A total of 499,188 girls aged 13-14.5 years were vaccinated during the study period. The HPV vaccine coverage rate was 83.55%. The vaccination rate varied across 9 cities in Fujian province. The free vaccination rate was negatively correlated with GDP per capita and per capita disposable income. The self-funded vaccination rate was positively correlated with GDP per capita and per capita disposable income. For both free and self-paid vaccines, the strength of association was stronger for the first dose than for the second. For every 1 yuan increase in per capita disposable income, the free first-dose HPV vaccination coverage rate decreased by 0.569%. In contrast, the first-dose self-funded HPV vaccination coverage rate increased by 0.666%. Similarly, the second-dose free HPV vaccination coverage rate decreased by 0.509%, and the second-dose self-funded HPV vaccination coverage rate increased by 0.519%. During the free domestic bivalent vaccine policy period, both GDP per capita and per capita disposable income influenced HPV vaccination rates, and the direction of this association showed opposite trends according to the type of vaccine (free or self-paid). Future strategies should transition from universal coverage to stratified precision approaches, implementing differentiated vaccine subsidy and supply policies based on regional economic development levels.
Huang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.