CDC Weighs Changes To Mandate That Young Immigrant Women Receive HPV Vaccine

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 12 May 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Immigration and women's health advocates hope that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's ongoing review of vaccination requirements for immigrants results in the elimination of a mandate that female immigrants receive Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, the AP/Newark Star-Ledger reports. Currently, female immigrants ages 11 to 26 must receive Gardasil to be eligible for a green card. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the vaccine for U.S. residents, but the agency has proposed changing the criteria used to decide which vaccines should be required for immigrants. The public comment period for the proposal ended Friday.

A coalition of more than 100 groups representing women, immigrants, and public health and reproductive rights advocates believes that the proposal is a step toward removing the Gardasil requirement. The group says that mandating the vaccine for immigrant women but not for most U.S. residents is unfair. Priscilla Huang, policy and programs director for the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, said, "We feel like the CDC is acting in good faith ... and that there is a good chance that the HPV vaccine will be retracted."

Huang said many young women are faced with the choice of getting the vaccine or waiting until they reach age 27 to acquire a green card. The vaccination is a three-shot series that costs between $400 and $1,000, which can add to financial strain for immigrants who already pay more than $1,000 in form fees and hundreds of dollars for mandatory medical exams. Huang said health insurance companies do not pay for medical services required for immigration purposes, which further increases the financial burden for immigrants (Garay, AP/Newark Star-Ledger, 5/7).

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