Washington State Distributes 28,000 HPV Vaccine Doses To Public, Private Health Clinics

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 31 May 2007 - 9:00 PDT

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Washington State Secretary of Health Mary Selecky on Wednesday announced that about 28,000 doses of Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil have been shipped to public and private clinics across the state, the Seattle Times reports (King, Seattle Times, 5/24). Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 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 girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine. CDC has added Gardasil to its Vaccines for Children Program, which provides no-cost immunizations to children ages nine to 18 covered by Medicaid, Alaska Native and American Indian children, and some uninsured and underinsured children. Washington state lawmakers in April included funding in the budget to add the HPV vaccine to the state's universal vaccine program, which would make it available to girls ages nine to 18 at almost no cost (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/18).


Washington's Department of Health's Universal Childhood Vaccine Program is providing $12 million for the vaccine program through a combination of federal and state funds. The vaccines will be available at no cost at private and public clinics, but federal law allows physicians and clinics to charge up to $15.60 per shot for administering them (Seattle Times, 5/24). The 28,000 doses are the first installment of 94,000 doses to be provided annually by the state, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. Officials plan to target girls ages 11 and 12, but they estimate funding for the program will be enough to cover vaccinations for a quarter of girls ages 11 to 18 in the state (Spokane Spokesman-Review, 5/24).

"The HPV vaccine is a breakthrough in cancer prevention," Selecky said Wednesday in a news conference, adding, "It is most effective before a girl becomes sexually active." There are no current plans to make the vaccine mandatory for school entry, Selecky said. The Washington State Board of Health typically waits about two years before adding new vaccines to school requirements while it observes the demand for the immunizations and their long-term safety (Seattle Times, 5/24).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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