EXPERTS BRIEF FAMILY, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE ON HPV, CERVICAL CANCER AND EFFECTIVENESS OF GARDASIL VACCINE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2007

Contact: Melanie Montalto, Legislative Aide
Tel: (914) 995-8620
MelanieM@westchesterlegislators.com

County Legislator Judy Myers (D,I,WF- Larchmont), Chair of the Family, Health and Human Services Committee, invited in experts to brief the committee on the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), its link to cervical cancer and the effectiveness of the recently released Gardasil vaccine. Eight public health experts and advocates provided an exhaustive overview of cervical cancer, how the vaccine works, when it should be administered and to whom, its costs and availability and whether the vaccine should be mandated.

“This was a much needed, informational meeting about HPV and Gardasil,” said Myers at the conclusion of the meeting. “There is an ongoing national debate about whether or not to mandate the vaccine for young girls, but there is very little being done to educate the public about the virus, cervical cancer, and the vaccine. This was a first step in gathering information from many angles in order to help provide Westchester families with all of the tools they need to make a decision about vaccination.”

The speakers included Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Commissioner of the County Department of Public Health; Camille Murphy, Director of the County Office for Women; Dr. Adina Keller, OBGYN and member of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, District II/NY; Dr. Jose Munoz, Chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center; Lillian Jones, Regional Director for the American Cancer Society; Jennifer Zando, Director of Account Management for POMCO; Vanessa Flynn, RN and Vice President of Client Services for POMCO; and Lisa Winjum, Director, Public Affairs & Communications for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic. Merck, the company that produces Gardasil, was unable to send a representative, but they provided brochures and information for the meeting.

The Committee learned that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the country, and there 1.4 million new cases of HPV in the U.S. in 2006. Only two types of HPV are known to cause cervical cancer though, and two others cause genital warts. The Gardasil vaccine protects women from all four of these HPV types, preventing up to 70% of cervical cancer cases and 90% of genital warts. In 2006 approximately 10,000 women in the United States developed cervical cancer, and 4,000 will die from the disease. The annual cost to provide HPV-related medical care amounts to $3.5 billion, funds that some public health experts suggest could be diverted to help support making the vaccine universally available.

All of the experts agreed that the vaccine is safe and is recommended for girls aged 9-26, but most highly recommended for girls aged 11-13. The FDA approved the vaccine and the Center for Disease Control released a statement on March 23rd stating their approval of Gardasil and encouraging females to get the three series vaccine.