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CDC Offers Free Materials on HPV Vaccine

By News Staff
4/17/2007

If you've recently found yourself besieged by patients asking if they or their daughters should get the quadrivalent human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine, here's help: the CDC has updated its brochure, "Human Papillomavirus: HPV Information for Clinicians," and posted four sets of counseling messages to help you in your HPV-related discussions with patients.

The brochure and messages aim to help you answer patients' and parents' questions about the vaccine, which was approved last June for use in females ages 9-26 to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts caused by four HPV types. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, later recommended routine immunization of those patients with the vaccine, which is sold as Gardasil.

Vaccine Mandates?

Some questions you're hearing may have stemmed from news reports during the past few months about widespread legislative attempts to require administration of the HPV vaccine.

The vaccine's manufacturer, Merck and Co. Inc., drew fire earlier this year for what some observers viewed as overzealous marketing tactics. Specifically, Merck lobbyists focused their efforts in statehouses around the nation, urging lawmakers to mandate administration of the vaccine to young girls as a prerequisite to attend school. Despite some spotty success with this tactic, Merck halted its lobbying efforts in late February amid burgeoning criticism from physician and consumer groups.

It's worth noting that the Academy, through its work with the ACIP, helped develop the HPV vaccine recommendations now promulgated by the CDC and also recommends administration of the vaccine to females ages 9-26. However, the AAFP does not favor mandating the vaccine at this time.

Download Materials

Visit the CDC Web site to view the clinician brochure and the following four counseling messages:

"What Patients Should Know When They Are Diagnosed With Genital Warts," (PDF file: 2 pages / 120 KB. More about PDFs.)
"What Women Should Know Before They Get a Pap and HPV Test," (PDF file: 2 pages / 104 KB. More about PDFs.)
"What Women with a Positive HPV Test Result Should Know," and (PDF file: 2 pages / 104 KB. More about PDFs.)
"What Parents of Preteens/Adolescents Should Know About the HPV Vaccine." (PDF file: 2 pages / 104 KB. More about PDFs.)

A color PDF version of the brochure is available for viewing and downloading, (PDF file: 36 pages 1 MB. More about PDFs.) or health professionals can download a four-color, fully printer-ready file for mass reproduction.

Additional background and educational materials for both patients and clinicians are available from the CDC's National Immunization Program Web site.

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