TAMPA, Fla. — Monday, March 4 is International HPV Awareness Day.
Doctors are now recommending a cancer-preventing HPV vaccine that was initially marketed for teens, young men and women in their 20s in 2006, for older adults too.
"A few new studies have been completed that include men and women and have shown benefits in that older age group," Dr. Susan Vadaparampil with the Moffitt Cancer Center Health Outcomes and Behavior said. "But I want to reiterate that 11-to-12-year-olds are really the target age group."
Last fall, the FDA approved expanding the ages to up to 45 years old.
Doctors believe getting young people vaccinated is the key to eventually eradicating cervical cancer and other cancers.
"We see in countries with high rates of vaccination, the precursors or the types of issues that occur prior to cervical cancer have gone way down, so we're finally at a time where we're thinking about eliminating cervical cancer," Vadaparampil said.
She adds that the ideal candidate for the vaccine are those who haven't had sex and those who haven't been exposed to the Human Papilloma Virus.
That's why doctors really want teens and tweens to get the vaccine.
The vaccine is about $190 and is covered by most insurance plans. The Vaccine for Children Program will get your child vaccinated for free if your child isn’t covered.
For adults without insurance, you can go through the patient assistance program through the manufacturer.
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