25% of Teen Girls Vaccinated for HPV

Oct. 10 -- THURSDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- About 25 percent of girls aged 11 to 17 have gotten the human papillomavirus vaccine known as Gardasil, which protects against cervical cancer, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

"This is very good for a first year measurement of a new vaccine," Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the Division of Immunization Services at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during a noon teleconference. "It usually takes six to nine years to achieve the desired 90 percent coverage."

Rodewald noted that because the survey covers only young teens, many more young women have probably received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The vaccine has been very well-tolerated, and its protection, especially when given at a younger age, is expected to last at least six years, he noted. Whether a booster shot will be needed isn't known yet.

The hope for the vaccine is that it will reduce the almost 4,000 cervical cancer deaths each year in the United States. Barriers to getting the vaccine include cost, which is about $375, although it is covered under many health insurance plans.

In September, fainting, a side effect associated with the HPV vaccine, resulted in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requiring that vaccine manufacturer Merck & Co. add a warning to the vaccine's package insert, advising doctors to watch patients for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine to be sure they don't faint.

This is the second year the Annual National Immunization Survey for Teens has been done among children in this age group, Rodewald noted. In the survey, researchers collected data on about 3,000 teens whose vaccinations were verified by their doctors.

The results of the survey are published in the Oct. 10 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"In 2005 and 2006, [the] CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices recommended three new vaccines to protect preteens and teens from infectious diseases that were not previously preventable in this age group," Rodewald said. "All three of these vaccines have the potential to prevent a substantial burden of disease."