Scott Co. will offer new HPV vaccine

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By Ann McGlynn | Wednesday, February 28, 2007 1:03 PM CST | () comments

Parents of 295 11- and 12-year-old girls in the Iowa Quad-Cities will receive over the next several weeks a postcard telling them their child may be eligible for a new vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer, Scott County Health Department officials said Tuesday.

The department, which provides vaccinations for underinsured, uninsured and Medicaid-eligible children, will begin giving the HPV vaccine today, said Roma Taylor, clinical services director. The department will focus on 11- and 12-year-old girls, but it also will provide the vaccine to eligible 13- to 18-year-olds.

The department joins Quad-City area physician’s offices and other health-care providers in offering the three-shot series, called Gardasil, which was approved in June by the Food and Drug Administration.

“In the postcard, we also put in a patient information sheet about Gardasil so that some of their questions will be answered,” Taylor said, adding that department staffers will be happy to answer any additional questions parents may have.

The department’s initiative begins just as a federal report revealed Tuesday that 1 in 4 women in the United States ages 14 to 59 is infected with the sexually transmitted virus that can, in some forms, cause cervical cancer.

The highest prevalence — nearly 45 percent — was found in young women within the age range recommended for the new virus-fighting vaccine, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Robert Anderson, a pediatrician in Bettendorf, said about 50 percent of parents with girls in the suggested age range ask about the vaccine at his practice. He raises the issue with parents who do not ask.

Many say yes to the vaccine, he said. The cost is $360, which most insurance companies cover.

“The word is out,” he said. “Some parents do request it when they come in, but not all. Some kind of raise an eyebrow when we suggest it. There still is that concern that by having the vaccine that they would be sexually active.

“It really is an issue of preventing cervical cancer,” Anderson added.

Mona Alqulali, an obstetrician/gynecologist, is talking with a lot of mothers who are asking about the vaccine for their daughters. It is not yet clear whether the vaccine would be effective at fighting the virus in males.

“This is a chance for a mother and daughter to talk about something important. Moms don’t have to ask about whether the daughter is having sex,” Alqulali said. “It should be considered a childhood vaccination.”

Many people who have HPV do not know it, she added.

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.