New Hampshire is the First State to Offer Free HPV Vaccine

New Hampshire announced recently that it will become the first state to offer the new HPV vaccine free to all girls ages 11 to 18. There are approximately 68,000 eligible girls in Hew Hampshire and the state has budgeted $4.8 million dollars for the vaccine in 2007.

The FDA approved the vaccine (Gardasil) in June for girls as young as 9. It prevents infection from some of the strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, that can cause cervical cancer, the #2 cancer killer of women. This vaccine will not protect people who are already infected, but can prevent girls who have not been infected.

Photo credit: rcmori1981