SAVANNAH, Ga. - GeorgiaChron -- Cervical cancer is entirely preventable, yet Georgia ranks 30th in the nation for its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage rate of only 61.5%.

Healthy Savannah has spent the past year working to change that statistic in Chatham County where cervical cancer mortality rates among Black women are almost one and a half times as high as they are among white women.

Now, it appears those efforts are making a difference. On Saturday, Feb. 8, the organization held a ceremony to recognize the people and organizations that have increased community awareness and acceptance of the vaccine.

"Through a one-year grant provided by CHC: Creating Healthier Communities to elevate awareness of the HPV vaccine and its prevention interventions for certain cancers, we focused on public education, offering numerous public listening sessions, round table discussions and training opportunities in HPV awareness methodologies," said Dr. Elsie Smalls, HPV VEI manager.

The Chatham County Health Department also reported a significant increase in vaccine administration. During 2023, it administered a total of 608 human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. The 2024 goal was to increase this by 25% (152 vaccines) to a total of 760 HPV vaccines given.

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Healthy Savannah held the first of two HPV listening sessions in April 2024, inviting current, former and prospective community health advocates (CHAs) to introduce the new HPV Vaccination Equity Initiative program. Healthy Savannah first developed its CHA program in 2021 to elevate adult vaccine awareness under the first of two five-year CDC Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grants.

The organization followed the initial HPV listening session with a new CHA training program in May 2024, which focused on the benefits of the HPV vaccine in preventing cervical cancer. Healthy Savannah also hosted a pivotal roundtable discussion in August with leaders of organizations that work with or mentor young people and held a final round of listening and CHA training sessions later in the year.

"Healthy Savannah is extremely proud of being able to support this work," said Armand Turner, executive director. "Our CHAs have done a phenomenal job and, hopefully, we can keep this work going forward."

For more information, visit https://healthysavannah.org/our-programs/adult-immunization/hpv/