Although it's not my intention to become a medical blog, I see that I've had a lot of hits on this topic and so want to provide a little follow-up.
I found a discussion from The American College of Pediatricians which is very informative. Since it's a little long, I give the highlights from my perspective. The Merck trials provided three immunizations over a six month period. They involved a much larger number of young girls than I had understood (over 1100 between the ages of 9 and 15). Antibodies to HPV peaked 7 months after treatment and then diminished, stabilizing about three years after the treatment at a level higher than before the treatment. (However, to date, the longest follow-on study has only looked at patients four years after treatment.)
The College of Pediatricians refers to the results as "limited, short term data" and recommends:
1) that drug manufacturers establish registries of patients given the vaccine (so that long term effects can be studied)
2) that vaccine recipients be informed of that the knowledge about the vaccine's effectiveness or life span has limitations
3) that consideration be given to waiting to give the vaccine until a recipient is sexually active
4) that recipients be informed that the vaccine does not make sex "safe"
The College of Pediatricians is opposed to legislation which makes the vaccine mandatory for school attendance, noting that the disease can only be spread through "penetrating vaginal intercourse." The College is also concerned about the ethical dilemma of having to explain sexual conduct to a nine year-old (required before administering the drug), when the child's parents may not have yet introduced the subject (since most 9 year olds in the US are not sexually active and have not reached puberty).
I found a discussion from The American College of Pediatricians which is very informative. Since it's a little long, I give the highlights from my perspective. The Merck trials provided three immunizations over a six month period. They involved a much larger number of young girls than I had understood (over 1100 between the ages of 9 and 15). Antibodies to HPV peaked 7 months after treatment and then diminished, stabilizing about three years after the treatment at a level higher than before the treatment. (However, to date, the longest follow-on study has only looked at patients four years after treatment.)
The College of Pediatricians refers to the results as "limited, short term data" and recommends:
1) that drug manufacturers establish registries of patients given the vaccine (so that long term effects can be studied)
2) that vaccine recipients be informed of that the knowledge about the vaccine's effectiveness or life span has limitations
3) that consideration be given to waiting to give the vaccine until a recipient is sexually active
4) that recipients be informed that the vaccine does not make sex "safe"
The College of Pediatricians is opposed to legislation which makes the vaccine mandatory for school attendance, noting that the disease can only be spread through "penetrating vaginal intercourse." The College is also concerned about the ethical dilemma of having to explain sexual conduct to a nine year-old (required before administering the drug), when the child's parents may not have yet introduced the subject (since most 9 year olds in the US are not sexually active and have not reached puberty).
