SEMO HEALTH NETWORK TO RECEIVE CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) announces its largest single grant – $11 million to provide the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for 30,000 girls and women this year in Missouri. The grant represents the largest non-governmental funding of the vaccine’s distribution in the United States, and the most comprehensive effort in any state to ensure all who can benefit from the vaccine receive it. The vaccine, Gardasil®, prevents cervical cancer in females caused by certain types of HPV.
“This grant enables Missouri health care providers such as SEMO Health Network to provide the vaccine free of charge to girls and women ages 9-26 not covered by adequate insurance or who do not qualify for Missouri’s free Vaccines For Children (VFC) program.” “Distribution of the vaccine is planned at all SEMO Health Network locations in Sikeston, New Madrid, Bernie, Portageville, and Kennett,” reported Cheryl White, CEO. “ I think this is an excellent prospect for parents with girls this age to have the possibility to receive the vaccines without the barriers of cost weighing in on the decision process.”
The grant to purchase the vaccine is being given to Missouri Family Health Council (MFHC) and Missouri Primary Care Association (MPCA), which will be responsible for distributing Gardasil to the 92 health centers.
Gardasil®, which was developed by Merck & Co., Inc., has been available in the U.S. since mid-2006 following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At the same time, the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended it be given to females ages 9-26. However, the commercial cost of the vaccine – about $360 for the three-dose regimen – has severely limited its availability to low-income and uninsured girls and women.
Recently, the federal VFC program approved adding Gardasil® to its free vaccine program for eligible girls and women ages 9-18. Most vaccines provided through VFC cover ages 0-18. Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services plans to have Gardasil® available through its VFC program by late January. Under general VFC guidelines, only Medicaid-eligible girls and women who have no insurance or are Native American or Alaskan Native, qualify to receive the HPV vaccine through that program.
The MFH grant announcement also comes during National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, which is observed in January. Cervical cancer is one of the leading cancers among women. In Missouri, the incidence rate is 7.9 per 100,000 women.
An estimated 20 million men and women in the United States are infected with HPV. In most people, HPV goes away on its own. However, the virus is known to be transmitted through sexual activity. According to Merck, Gardasil® is most effective when given to females before they become sexually active and are much less likely to have been exposed to HPV.
HPV has been identified as the cause of cervical cancers, pre-cancers, benign cervical lesions and genital warts. Although Gardasil® does not prevent all types of HPV, it targets those strains that account for 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts.
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