Planned Parenthood to Offer HPV Vaccine

PPDE to offer HPV vaccine at no charge for qualifying uninsured adults.

Planned Parenthood of Delaware (PPDE) is joining the fight against cervical cancer.  Beginning November 5th, PPDE will begin offering the Gardasil vaccine to women ages 12 to 26.  The Rehoboth PPDE medical center will begin offering the vaccination November 7th.  The Gardasil vaccine, or HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine protects women against strains of HPV known to cause cervical cancer and genital warts. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the HPV vaccine for girls and women from age 9 to 26 in June 2006.  Planned Parenthood of Delaware has been designated by the Delaware Division of Public Health as a Vaccine for Children site, for Gardasil, for patients age 12-18, and as an Adult Immunization Program provider for patients age 19 – 26.   The vaccination is vital for women’s health because it protects against two types of HPV that cause 90 percent of all genital warts and two types of HPV that cause 70 percent of all cervical cancer in the United States. 
Delaware offers the HPV vaccine free of charge as part of the Screening for Life program (SFL) for cancer screenings.  As a designated health care provider in the SFL program, PPDE will administer the vaccination free of charge to women who are uninsured or underinsured.  The cost of the vaccination is usually covered for individuals enrolled in Medicaid or who have coverage through a private insurance provider.

The HPV vaccine is given in three separate injections over the course of six months.  The first dose is given at the initial health center visit.  The second dose is administered two months later, and the third and final injection is given six months after the first dose was given. Women and girls can go to any PPDE health center to receive the HPV vaccination.