Gardasil HPV vaccine for boys

[Guest guest]

FDA is considering expanding the indication for Merck's Gardasil HPV vaccine to young boys in addtion to girls & young women. The rationale for doing so will be that it can prevent death from penile & anal cancers, as well as morbidity from venereal warts, and that immunizing boys will also protect their partners (female and male) and further reduce the burden of HPV disease in the general population (aka "herd immunity"). While it may be too late for adults like us to avoid HPV infection, this could save future generations from needless suffering from cancers & veneral warts.

The FDA is expected to approve this indication for boys, and that approval will be followed by hearings at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta for recommendations for the government to pay for this vaccine for those covered by govt funded health programs. These hearings will take place Oct 21 & 22. There is a public comment section for people to testify as to the importance of these vaccine, and as an anal cancer survivor I plan to attend. At a similar hearing regarding recommendations for the same vaccine when the indication was expanded to young women instead of just girls, the public testimony and comments received helped convince the committee to recommend coverage of Gardasil for that use. Therefore I am trying to get as many men as possible who've experienced, or lost partners to, anal or penile cancers to consider testifying as to the importance of this vaccine for boys & men. Individuals desiring to send in public comments may do so at this email address: acip@....

Please forward this to friends & colleagues whom you think might be interested in assisting in this effort. If you are able to attend the hearing on Oct 21, please contact me directly at this e-mail address. More information on the vaccine and the CDC hearing process can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/meetings.htm#register

Thank you.

Jeff