Pressroom
Newsbriefs
Vaccine Against Virus in Girls May Be Given to Boys
New York TimesA21
Singer, Natasha
10/22/2009
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met on Oct. 21 to discuss the use of the Gardasil vaccine--first approved and recommended for girls and women between the ages of nine and 26 years to prevent strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for cervical cancer--in boys and men of the same age. While the committee recommended using the vaccine in boys and men to prevent genital warts, they did not urge the routine use of the vaccine, meaning that physicians will not be expected to offer it and some health insurers may not pay for it. While Dr. Richard Haupt, Merck's research director for Gardasil, believes that giving the vaccine to boys and men could prevent both sexes from contracting HPV, others says such a strategy is not cost-effective; the vaccine requires three doses that cost $130 apiece. The committee's February meeting will focus on the use of Gardasil in boys and men to prevent HPV-related cancers.
