Lawmakers should not make HPV vaccination mandatory, CDC advisory panel chair says

Jon Abramson, chair of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, recently said that he does not support mandating human papillomavirus vaccination for school attendance, the Washington Times reports.

He also said that he and other committee members told Merck, which makes the HPV vaccine Gardasil, not to lobby lawmakers to approve mandates (Lopes, Washington Times, 2/27).

Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases.

FDA in July 2006 approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and ACIP later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine.

Merck last year began lobbying state legislatures to pass laws mandating that middle school age girls receive Gardasil.

However, the company earlier this month decided to suspend its lobbying campaign in light of opposition from some parents, patient advocacy groups and public health officials.

Merck also supports requiring private insurers to cover Gardasil, which costs $360 and is administered in three injections given over six months, as well as funding for programs that help defray vaccine costs for low-income and uninsured children (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/21).

According to Abramson, HPV vaccinations should not be mandated because HPV is not a contagious disease and also because states have not shown that the funds are available to vaccinate every child.

"A child in school is not at an increased risk for HPV like he is measles," Abramson said. Merck in a statement released on Monday said, "We do not want any misperception about Merck's role to distract from the ultimate goal of fighting cervical cancer, so Merck has re-evaluated its approach at the state level, and we will not lobby for school requirements for Gardasil" (Washington Times, 2/27).