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Mississippi has the worst HPV vaccine uptake in the nation, and women are dying of preventable cancer

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The vaccine with the poorest track record in the U.S. has its worst uptake in Mississippi. Nearly 20 years after the first FDA-approved HPV vaccine was introduced to the public, Mississippi has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer deaths in the country.

The Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine protects against the nine most common and high-risk strains of the virus that cause cancers and genital warts in both males and females. Despite its efficacy, it has one of the lowest immunization records of recommended vaccines in the country, with a national average of only 63% of teens up to date on their two-dose vaccine.

In Mississippi, only 39% of teens are up to date on immunization. Practitioners say the biggest barriers to immunization against the virus are the stigma around how the virus is thought to be transmitted and misunderstanding about who the vaccine is for.

Dr. Anita Henderson, pediatrician at Hattiesburg Clinic and the former president of the Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that it has taken time for the public to understand that the vaccine is not simply preventing a sexually transmitted disease.

“That is not what the HPV vaccine was developed for – it was developed to prevent cancers,” Henderson said. “And unfortunately, I think the misinformation around this vaccine has played a significant role in its poor uptake.”

In fact, despite the longstanding definition of HPV as a “sexually transmitted disease,” research is now bringing to light instances of non-sexual contact transmission. Some pediatricians are seeing HPV transmission from mother to baby during birth.

“We have had several babies with HPV in their airways causing stridor and difficulty breathing,” Henderson said. “The pediatric ENT made the diagnosis of HPV warts in the airway with diagnosis and treatment via upper airway endoscopy.”

Dr. Anita Henderson, a pediatrician at The Pediatric Clinic, speaks in support of Senate Bill 2212 during a press conference at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, February 22, 2023. The bill would extend postpartum coverage from two months to one year. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

For parents who associate the virus with sexual behavior, it can be confusing why practitioners recommend the vaccine at such a young age. But the impact of age on efficacy of the vaccine is also misunderstood.

“The vaccine is about 90% effective against cervical cancer when given at the age of 12 or 13, it is about 60% effective if given at the age of 14 to 16, and it is about 30 or 35% effective if given at the age of 16 to 18,” Henderson explained.

According to Henderson, that has to do not only with the fact that earlier immunization increases one’s chances of vaccinating prior to exposure, but also with the fact that “when you’re younger, your immune system does a better job of developing the appropriate antibodies to the vaccine.”

The HPV vaccine has been an outlier in childhood vaccines in Mississippi. The state has been at the forefront of childhood immunization for years, often ranking first for vaccination in young children – a title that only now could be challenged as Mississippi joined other states in allowing religious exemption for childhood vaccination last month.

The widespread association of the HPV vaccine with sexual activity is part of what makes HPV vaccine hesitancy so unique and pervasive in the state, explained the Mississippi HPV Roundtable Coordinator Amy Ellis.

The Mississippi HPV Roundtable works to increase HPV vaccination rates by offering online resources for parents and coordinating health initiatives across the state. Member organizations come from a diversity of sectors including academia and state and local agencies.

“If it was a vaccine to prevent any other type of cancer that wasn’t sexually transmitted, I don’t think it would be this controversial,” Ellis said.

And while some parents might fear that the vaccine encourages sexual behavior, studies show there is no evidence to support that claim.

“A misconception that some parents have is that if their kids get the HPV vaccine, that that is going to give them permission to have sex, and that has just not proven to be the case,” Ellis continued. “Kids don’t even know what vaccine they’re getting.”

While the state has the worst HPV vaccine rates, there are a number of Mississippi initiatives to change that statistic that Ellis is excited to see play out. One of the most successful so far, she said, is the college campus initiative, that aims to inform college students who never received the vaccine, for whatever reason, about the HPV virus and vaccine.

“Ole Miss is taking the lead on that and doing an amazing job,” Ellis said, “educating students about the vaccine, and then if they want to get it, they can go get it at a clinic on site.”

The Mississippi Board of Dental Examiners also ruled in April 2021 to allow licensed dentists in the state to administer the vaccine, according to the board minutes. Currently, there are no dentists who have completed the process to store and administer the vaccine on site, but the policy is in place for that to happen in the future.

“We are ahead of the game there,” Ellis said. “There are not many states that have dentists that are able to give the vaccine, so that is exciting for Mississippi.”

Cervical cancer is a more known example of HPV-related cancer because there are so many studies and an abundance of data and marketing highlighting the connection to the HPV virus. But Tara Smith, an epidemiologist and professor at Kent State University College of Public Health whose research is rooted in science denial and vaccine hesitancy, noted there are also several debilitating cancers for males.

HPV can cause penile, anal and oral cancers in men, the last of which has been on the rise in recent years.

“I don’t think some people have gotten past the idea that the only reason to get it for boys is to protect their female partners,” Smith said. “I think that that education campaign has been kind of lacking.”

Smith also said that one of the biggest causes of this miseducation is the reluctance to talk about these topics – both on the part of parents and practitioners.

“I think there is a lot of misunderstanding that if teens behave in a manner that the parents would like them to, as far as abstaining, that that will protect them, which unfortunately, it really doesn’t,” she explained.

Even teens who abstain from intercourse might end up engaging in other forms of sexual activity, all of which can transmit the virus. For those who do abstain entirely, Smith said, “you still don’t know who they’re going to marry.”

What makes these conversations even more trying for parents, Smith explained, is that they “can sometimes bring up more uncomfortable topics about things like rape and sexual assault, where your child may not be protected, and it may not be their choice to engage in sexual activity.”

But for Smith, there is nothing more important than setting up the dialogue between parents and practitioners as early as age 9, which is the youngest age the HPV vaccine can be administered.

“We need to be talking about it, and talking about it earlier,” she said. “When you get to the time when kids are recommended for the vaccine, which is generally around 12 or so, parents are starting to think about things like their child growing up, and bringing in that conversation about sex is sometimes difficult. So I really think it’s about the dialogue, and starting early, and not being afraid to talk about these things.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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12 hours ago

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April 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi Today

With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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