A new analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) has revealed that improvements in routine coverage of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the USA have stalled since the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators from CDC examined national survey data from 2023, drawn from 16 658 adolescents aged 13–17 years, who were born between 2005 and 2010. 61·4% (95% CI 59·9–63·0) of these individuals were up to date with the full schedule of the HPV vaccine in 2023, compared with 62·6% (95% CI 61·1–64·0) in 2022.