HPV vaccination reaches 47.8% of children in Bauska municipality, above national average

Latvia's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) has for the first time released detailed data on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage broken down by municipality, allowing comparisons across the country and tracking of trends over time.

The figures reveal wide regional disparities. As of September 3, Jēkabpils municipality had vaccinated 63.9% of 12-year-old children with a first dose, while Saulkrasti municipality reached only 17.4% — a gap of more than 46 percentage points.

Bauska municipality's figures

In Bauska municipality, the target group includes 462 children. Of these, 221 — or 47.8% — have received a first dose, exceeding the national average of 43.4%. A second dose has been given to 113 children, or 24.5%, close to the national average of 24.1% for the second dose. In total, 334 vaccinations have been administered in the municipality. By comparison, first-dose coverage in Bauska was higher in 2024, at 55.8%.

State-funded HPV vaccination in Latvia is available to girls and boys aged 12 to 17, as well as young people up to age 25.

Why coverage varies

SPKC says the differences between municipalities are not driven solely by parents' individual choices. How actively families are informed and contacted, how convenient vaccination is to access, and how it is organised locally all play a role. The centre stresses that a child's access to preventive care should not depend on where they live, and points to municipalities with high coverage as examples to learn from.

State-funded HPV vaccination for girls was introduced in Latvia in 2010, and for boys in 2022. A long-term Swedish study found that girls vaccinated by age 17 had an 88% lower incidence of cervical cancer than unvaccinated peers, with protective effects persisting for many years.