A survey has found that girls ages 15 to 19 who are vaccinated against human papillomavirus, or HPV, are no more likely to be sexually active or to have more partners than unvaccinated girls.

The report, published in the January issue of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, also found that among sexually active girls, those who were vaccinated were more likely to consistently use a condom than those who had not had the shot.

“This is all preliminary data, but it shows no association between HPV vaccination and sexual risk,” said the lead author, Nicole C. Liddon, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “So it should to some degree assuage any concerns that HPV vaccination would lead to increased sexual activity.”

In a nationally representative sample of girls and women ages 15 to 24, researchers found no difference in vaccine rates by race or ethnicity among girls ages 15 to 19, but non-Hispanic black women ages 20 to 24 were less likely than white women of the same age to have received the shot.