By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired the genital human papillomavirus infection (HPV), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HPV is a misunderstood, far more common cause of viral STD than many people realize. It is also the only virus known to cause cervical cancer.

This past June, however, a vaccine called Gardasil was licensed for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It protects against four types of HPV, which together cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts.

Health Center Director Gary Nelson said this is an improvement in the modern medical world.

“This is a great advance in medicine to have a vaccine that’s 100 percent effective in prevention of HPV, which is the main contributor to cervical cancer,” he said.

Kate Dillon ’08 agrees that Gardasil is an important advancement and that women should take heed.

“It’s absolutely worth getting. It’s something proactive for your health. We have vaccines for polo and measles; it’s irresponsible not to get it,” she said.

Danielle Bujak ’09 agreed, saying, “I think that the drug is extremely good, not only do I feel that it can protect women, but it raises awareness of the virus and lets people know that there is a way to prevent it.”

Although Nelson said that private physicians everywhere now stock the vaccine and it is covered by most insurance plans, the Health Center does not currently stock Gardasil due to cost. He hopes this will change soon.

By obtaining the vaccine through a private physician, a woman would likely have the majority of the cost covered by her insurance company.

But because the Health Center does not work with insurance companies, to carry the drug would mean charging students out-of-pocket, approximately $180 per dose, according to Nelson.

Though symptoms of the virus can occasionally include genital warts, most of the estimated 20 million people that are currently infected with the virus will never know they have it.

It is estimated that many people get HPV within their first two to three years of becoming sexually active, and abstinence is the only way to be sure not to contract the virus because it is unknown just how much protection from HPV condoms actually provide.

That is why Gardasil, according to Nelson, is such a significant innovation.

“I think most people in medicine now would strongly encourage (getting vaccinated),” he said.

Although he admits the vaccine is cost prohibitive, Nelson has been working with Director of Health and Wellness Jeanne DiMuzio and is in the early planning stages of a possible Gardasil clinic on campus next semester.

Nelson said that anyone who is able to get the vaccine should, and should start the dosages this winter break.

The shots are administered two months apart over a six-month period, so students could get the first in January, follow up over spring break and again after school ends.

“To have a vaccine that prevents cancer is a very significant event in disease prevention,” Nelson said.

Dillon agreed. “If you can just do something to prevent cancer, why wouldn’t you?” she said.

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