HPV Vaccine

This month has been a good month for major medical news directly related to women. The FDA approved a new vaccine called “Gardasil” that will be given in three shots to prevent the Human Papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer. Remember HPV is one of the reasons that women get Pap smears because they help detect or prevent cervical cancer. Cervical Cancer is the second most common cancer in women and is responsible for about 3,500 deaths per year. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that affects about 6 million women a year. The development of this vaccine is a major public health victory if African American women will get this vaccination. It will be recommended that the vaccine be given to females age 9 - 25. The vaccine can also prevent genital warts, but it will not be given for that purpose at this time. This vaccine is only for Women and costs about $500. I am Dr. Thaddeus Bell --- Closing the Gap in health care.