Rx: Expanded use of HPV vaccine for boys

MANILA, Philippines -  MSD or Merck recently announced that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend that boys 11 to 12 years old be vaccinated routinely with the Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) vaccine to help prevent anal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, anal dysplasias, and precancerous lesions caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18, and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. Additionally, the Committee recommended that the vaccine be administered to males 13 to 21 years of age who have not previously been vaccinated or have not completed the three-dose series, and that the vaccination series can be started at nine years old at the discretion of their physicians.

 “Today’s ACIP recommendations will help to provide greater access to the quadrivalent HPV vaccine for males,” says Mark Feinberg, MD, PhD, chief public health and science officer, Merck Vaccines. “These new recommendations for use in males mark another important step in helping to protect more people from the HPV-related cancers and disease that the vaccine is indicated to prevent.”

 In the Philippines, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine is indicated for use in girls and women nine through 45 years of age for the prevention of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18, genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11, and precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. It is also approved for use in boys and men ages nine through 26 years of age for the prevention of external genital lesions and infection caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18..

 To know more about HPV and vaccination against HPV-related diseases, ask your OB-gynecologist, urologist, pediatrician, dermatologist, infectious disease specialist, internist, or family physician. You may also go to www.helpfightHPV.com.