Some Parents Concerned About Safety, Cost Of HPV Vaccine Gardasil

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 09 Nov 2006 - 3:00 PDT

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Some parents' concerns about the safety and cost of Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil "highlight the complex matrix of social, psychological, economic and logistical obstacles that public health authorities face in trying to spur widespread use of the vaccine," the Washington Post reports (Stein, Washington Post, 11/7). FDA in July approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that all girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/2). According to the Post, many parents, pediatricians and young women support the vaccine's use, but some parents face financial obstacles in purchasing it. Gardasil costs $120 per dose, which means it costs $400 to $500 for the three-shot series plus physicians' charges, the Post reports. Many pediatricians have stocked Gardasil, but some are delaying ordering the vaccine until they can be assured about cost reimbursement from insurers. Some parents also "want more time ... to be sure" the vaccine is safe for young girls, while others are concerned about giving their daughter a "false sense of security" by giving her a vaccine that protects against a sexually transmitted infection, according to the Post. "This is not going to be easy," Jon Abramson of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and chair of the ACIP, said, adding, "This is a really important vaccine. But it's going to be complicated. This raises some issues we've never had to deal with before" (Washington Post, 11/7).

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