Study: HPV vaccine by age 21 a sound public health investment
source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-08-20-hpv-vaccine-investment_N.htm
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A new economic analysis shows that the HPV vaccine, which protects against the viruses that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts, could be a good financial investment in public health if given to those who have the most to gain: preadolescent girls and women up to age 21.
Authors of the study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, measured the Gardasil vaccine's value by calculating the cost of giving one person an extra healthy year of life and balancing the expense of vaccinations with the benefits of avoiding cancer, death and related expenses.
The analysis supports some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines, including its recommendation to routinely vaccinate 11- and 12-year-old girls. Gardasil, made by Merck, is the best bargain if girls are vaccinated before they're exposed to HPV, or human papillomavirus, which is spread through sexual contact, says co-author Jane Kim of the Harvard School of Public Health.
Authors of the study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, measured the Gardasil vaccine's value by calculating the cost of giving one person an extra healthy year of life and balancing the expense of vaccinations with the benefits of avoiding cancer, death and related expenses.
The analysis supports some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines, including its recommendation to routinely vaccinate 11- and 12-year-old girls. Gardasil, made by Merck, is the best bargain if girls are vaccinated before they're exposed to HPV, or human papillomavirus, which is spread through sexual contact, says co-author Jane Kim of the Harvard School of Public Health.
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- tags:
- Vaccines, HPV, HPV Vaccine
