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ACIP updates recommendations for HPV vaccines
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The CDC now recommends routine and catch-up vaccination for girls and women aged 11 to 26 years with either the bivalent or quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine but does not currently suggest adopting a similar policy for men, according to two published reports.
Both the bivalent (HPV2, Cervarix, GlaxoSmithKline) and the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4, Gardasil, Merck) are administered during a three-dose series that can be started at age 9, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices endorses routine immunization for girls aged 11 to 12 years. The panel, however, also urges girls and women aged 13 to 26 to be vaccinated with HPV2 or HPV4. Vaccination can be continued after age 26 if the series has not been completed by that time.
In keeping with guidance issued at the ACIP meeting on Oct. 21, 2009, the panel approved the use of HPV4 in boys and men aged 9 to 26 years for prevention of genital warts and anal, penile and oral and oropharyngeal cancers but did not recommend routine vaccination for this population. The burden of HPV-related disease in less among men, and the ACIP notes that as long as coverage among women remains higher than 80%, a routine HPV immunization program for men may not be economical.