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ACIP’s decision on HPV vaccine use in males sparks discussion among panel
Despite the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recent recommendation to permit use of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (Gardasil, Merck) vaccine in boys and men ages 9 through 26 years, many pediatricians speaking at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium said they had not begun vaccinating boys.
In a panel discussion after a talk on vaccines, Paul Offit, MD, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, took aim at the “permissive” language used by the ACIP, saying he felt the committee should have recommended the vaccine universally.
Larry Pickering, MD, who is the Executive Secretary to the ACIP and was also on the IDCNY panel, responded that the cost of the vaccine coupled with relatively low vaccination rates among girls and young women factored in to the ACIP’s recommendation. He also pointed out that the language may change in the future as the ACIP’s language was a preliminary recommendation.
“Girls and women need to be immunized against HPV. We really need to gear our efforts into that group,” Pickering said. He added that the ACIP’s recommendation enables the vaccine to be administered to boys under the Vaccines for Children Program.
Both Offit and Pickering agreed that time will tell how insurance companies will respond to the permissive recommendation.
Pickering encouraged audience members to consult the Red Book Online for guidance on HPV and other vaccine administration. He pointed out that this year’s version of the Red Book has an immunization scheduler that pediatricians can use to guide them on all the latest updates to the immunization schedule and clarifies which combination vaccines are available as well.