Merck, makers of Vioxx, has created a vaccine that has proven successful in preventing Cervical cancer by protecting women from catching 2 different strains of HPV. It has recently been approved by the FDA. The shot works best when given before a woman has caught HPV but this is a huge step forward. Another manufacturer is working on a second vaccine as well.
The vaccine is a series of three shots that are administered over six months. This may be a barrier to women who cannot get into the doctor’s office for regular medical check ups. In addition, the vaccine comes with a hefty $360.00 price tag for the full treatment. This may be a barrier to low income women and those who might fall into the highest risk categories.
The national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide June 29 whether to endorse routine vaccination. There have been proposals to make this immunization required to attend school, as Mumps shots currently are. After the June 29 vote, the decision will probably fall to the individual states to decide if it is required for attending school.
Good news for women, or at least a step forward. Please share with all the women you know. Cervical cancer should not be killing this many women.
For the full story, click here.
3 comments:
Doh! You beat me to it! I saw this on GMA yesterday and was thinking the news should be spread to the four winds. It's a huge deal.
The fun is going to start when parents have to decide when/if to vaccinate their little girls. Since it's an STD you know there is going to be crazy controversy on that.
Yes, the article discusses the controversy surrounding the vaccine and the conservative groups opposing mandatory vaccination. I bet if this vaccine cured some STD for boys there wouldn’t be this debate coming.
I heard scientists talking about this vaccine on 1070 AM yesterday on my way home. I believe they were saying 300.000 women die each year from cervical cancer. I was thinking that I should have posted this story yesterday since that was when I read and wrote about it. I was sure you were going to write about it first. I guess it doesn’t matter who writes about it, as long as the news gets out.
I heard that they were only going to provide it to women up to 26. That kind of screws us...but yay for the youth!
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