A vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been recently approved by the FDA. It is called Gardasil, and is available at Student Health. The vaccine has been approved for females between the ages of 9 and 26 years, regardless of whether or not they have been previously diagnosed with HPV. The vaccine protects against the 4 most common types of genital HPV infections, including two types that cause 70% of cervical cancers and two types that cause 90% of external genital warts. The vaccine has been tested in more than 11,000 females for the past five years, and there have been no serious complications seen. The vaccine consists of a series of 3 injections. The second and third injections are given at 2 and 6 months, respectively, after the first injection. Each injection costs $130 at Student Health. The Student Health insurance policy does not cover the vaccine at this time. Vaccinated women will still need regular Pap tests, since the vaccine will not provide protection against all types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. For more information about this vaccine and about HPV, we recommend you look at the Centers for Disease Control website: May, 2007
|