KIRKLAND, QC, April 26 /CNW Telbec/ – Today, Merck announced that Health Canada has extended the indication of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Recombinant Vaccine] in women up to the age of 45. Merck’s HPV vaccine is now approved for girls and women nine through 45 years of age for the prevention of cervical cancer, vulvar and vaginal cancers, precancerous lesions and genital warts caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, 18. Previously, GARDASIL® was approved in girls and women nine through 26.
“The decision to be vaccinated against HPV-related diseases as an adult should be taken by each individual woman in consultation with her healthcare professional,” said Dr. Vivien Brown, a family physician on staff at Mount Sinai Hospital, the University Health Network and North York General Hospital. “The HPV quadrivalent vaccine is not only for young people, both girls and boys, who have not yet been exposed to HPV, it’s also effective in older women.”
“Whatever the reason, there’s a tendency for women to remain at risk of acquiring new HPV infections as they get older. Whether they are changing their social status or not, women should talk to their doctors about the HPV protection provided by the quadrivalent vaccine,” said Dr. Alex Ferenczy, Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics & Gynecology at McGill University. “Evidence based medicine now suggests that physicians may propose the HPV quadrivalent vaccine to female patients up to age 45, on an individual basis.”
GARDASIL® was also approved in February 2010 for boys and men nine through 26 years of age for the prevention of infection caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11.
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[Note from SaneVax: What is wrong with this picture? The FDA recently refused to allow the use of Gardasil to be expanded to this very same age group in the United States.]
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