HPV vaccine is now available to VFC (Vaccines For Children) eligible females nine years to 18 years of age. VFC eligibility is any child that has Medicaid, is uninsured, or is an American Indian/Alaskan native.
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VFC has limited the availability due to the high cost of the vaccine, which is $96 per dose and is a three dose series. Females that are not VFC eligible will have to consult with their primary care physician to receive the HPV vaccine.
Some clinic’’s, for example Jamesport Outreach Clinic, are able to give HPV to under-insured females. If you have insurance but it doesn’t cover HPV, the clinic can give it to an under-insured individual.
The HPV vaccine is a series of three vaccinations: initial dose, then in two months, then in four months.
What is HPV? Human Papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. Most HPV infections don’’t cause any symptoms, and go away on their own. But HPV can cause cervical cancer in women. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women around the world.
“HPV is a cancer prevention vaccine,” said Jackie Nichols, L.P.N. at the Daviess County Health Department. “The idea is to catch and prevent HPV infections before females become sexually active; that’’s why it’’s being started while they’’re so young. It’’s the same theory as vaccinating babies with Hepatitis B, which is also a sexually transmitted disease.”
More than 50% of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at sometime in their lives. HPV can also cause genital warts and warts in the upper respiratory tract. HPV vaccine can prevent most genital wart and most cases of cervical cancer.
HPV vaccine is an inactivated (not live) vaccine, which protects against four major types of HPV. The HPV vaccine does not appear to cause any serious side effects . Most commonly reported side effects are pain, redness and itching at the injection site. However, a vaccine, like any medicine, could possibly cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. The risk of any vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small.
To learn more about the HPV vaccine, feel free to ask the nurses at the Daviess County Health Department, at 660-663-2414 or log on to the CDC’’s website at A free gift will be given to the first 20 eligible recipients of HPV at the Daviess County Health Department.