The Journal

Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Audrey Burke Health Services in Loretto Hall provides a variety of condoms in order to promote safe sex.

Health Services plans to begin administering the vaccine Gardasil in fall 2007 which will prevent cervical cancer caused by the sexually transmitted disease human papilloma virus. Students would have to pay full price for the vaccine.


HPV is the catch-all term for more than 100 different human papilloma viruses contracted through sexual activity. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 50 percent of sexually active people will acquire genital HPV at some point in their lives. Although most strands of the virus are harmless, meaning the body will ward them off, 30 strands cause genital warts, and another four strands cause cervical cancer.


The HPV vaccine protects women from the four worst strands of the virus, 6, 11, 16 and 18. It helps protect against both genital warts and cervical cancer. Gardasil is the first HPV vaccine. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 8, 2006, and targets 9 to 25-year-old women.


Allison Hile, a sexuality educator from the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Ill., is excited about the possibilities the drug can bring.


"This is the biggest piece of news in the fight against STDs in years," Hile said. "We can prevent cancer and every woman of reproductive age should get it."


Even though this breakthrough is exciting, word about the vaccine has not yet reached a large number of women. Susan Daily, director of Health Services at Webster, said students have not expressed to her much interest in getting the vaccine.


"Not a lot of women are asking about it," Daily said. "We need more PR and coverage so that women know more about it."


Cost can be a problem for students who want to get the vaccine. The vaccine is given in a series of three shots for a total cost of $360. Currently, not all insurance plans cover it.


For students who cannot afford the shot because of lack of insurance support, there is another option. Planned Parenthood recently received a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health, which enables Planned Parenthood to give the vaccine to eligible females for free. To be eligible, a female must be between the ages of 9 and 26, and either their insurance plans will not cover the cost of the vaccine or they do not have insurance at all.

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