By Michaela Ramm, Special to the Globe Gazette While the rate of adolescents receiving the first shot of the HPV vaccine increased statewide, new data shows the rate of young Iowans actually completing the two-dose series declined in 2019. Experts say thereâs potential the COVID-19 pandemic could further decrease these vaccination rates, which has caused a similar declining trend in other routine childhood immunizations in Iowa and nationwide, according to studies from a major health insurance federation. A new report published Tuesday by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association analyzed HPV vaccination rates over a three-year period for commercially insured populations nationwide that are between the ages of 10 and 13 years.