HPV vaccines provoke action by several US states, opt outs by parents gain ground

The development of two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, US drug major Merck & Co's Gardasil and UK-based drug giant GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix (Marketletters passim), has provoked several US states to make provisions for public funding of vaccination programs.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided in July last year to recommend that girls aged 11 and 12 receive Gardasil (Marketletter July 10, 2006). A decision on GSK's drug is expected by the end of the year from the Food and Drug Administration.

In Kentucky, the state House of Representatives approved a bill by 59 votes to 39, to require all middle-school girls to receive an HPV vaccine unless parents sign an exemption form. Kentucky's Governor, Ernie Fletcher (Republican), has expressed support for the bill and, at a recent State of the Commonwealth address, argued in favor of $4.0 million to finance immunization for uninsured and low-income women.