Is the HPV generally available now?

[Aeschines]

I need a GP in Indy and want the HPV vaccine. If I just call up some doc I’ve been referred to and say I want it, are they going to give it to me with no hassle?

Thanks for any info.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

From: HPV - STD information from CDC

The HPV vaccine is recommended for 11-12 year-old girls, and can be given to girls as young as 9. The vaccine is also recommended for 13-26 year-old girls/women who have not yet received or completed the vaccine series.

So if you’re a gal between 11 and 26 you can probably get it with little hassle. But if you’re male, the vaccine has not yet been demonstrated to be effective.

Right now the push is to get the vaccine to the population most liable to be at serious health risk for HPV.

[susan]

Qadgop, is it available to older women as well, or is the idea that we’ve all been exposed to HPV by 26?

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Shoshana

Qadgop, is it available to older women as well, or is the idea that we’ve all been exposed to HPV by 26?

From the CDC:

research on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy has only recently begun with women older than 26 years of age. The FDA will consider licensing the vaccine for these women when there is research to show that it is safe and effective for them.

Frankly, anyone outside of the recommended population can probably find a doc who’d be willing to give them the vaccine. But if your insurance won’t cover it (and if you’re not one of the folks for whom it is recommended, it probably won’t. Most insurances don’t cover it yet for young females for whom it is intended, yet) you may need to pay out of pocket, for a product which has not been demonstrated to be effective for you as of yet.

[susan]

Thanks. I’m willing to wait for efficacy to be shown. Just wondered what the thinking behind it was.

[Zsofia]

So, at 26 I can still get it? I’ll be going for my annual pelvic next week, have to remind myself to ask.

[elfkin477]

Qadgop, is effective primarily an issue because most women would have been exposed to the virus by age 26 like Shoshana suggests, or are there other age-related issues? That you can think of, I mean.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@elfkin477

Qadgop, is effective primarily an issue because most women would have been exposed to the virus by age 26 like Shoshana suggests, or are there other age-related issues? That you can think of, I mean.

I’m hardly an expert, but I expect the researchers targeted the population that was most vulnerable and in need of protection when they decided to design and test the product. I’m not aware of other age-related issues. But I haven’t researched this at all in depth.

[Chronos]

I am not a medical professional of any kind, but it’s my understanding that when a product is only approved for a particular population, it usually just means that that’s the only population for which it’s been tested. It does not generally mean that there is a known problem with others using it, just that researchers don’t know if there are any problems.