Changes to the 2007 immunization schedules for children and adolescents in the U.S. -- issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday and approved by CDC and the American Academy of Family Physicians -- include recommending that girls ages 11 and 12 receive Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, Reuters Health reports (Reuters Health, 1/4).
Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July approved the vaccine for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/13/06). The changes in the 2007 schedule -- published in the Jan. 5 edition of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report -- also say that Gardasil, which is administered in three shots, "can be started in females as young as age nine years; and a catch-up vaccination is recommended for females 13 to 26 who have not been vaccinated previously or who have not completed the full vaccine series" (Price, Washington Times, 1/5).