Gardasil® is the new HPV vaccine and is now available at the Thomson Student Health Center. Students should call 803-777-3175 to make an appointment. This vaccine prevents cervical cancer and some cases of genital warts. Gardasil® is effective against four types of HPV--types 6, 11, 16, and 18. Types 6 and 11 cause 90% of cases of genital warts and types 16 and 18 cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. The vaccine will not protect you against other subtypes (over 100 exist), so it is important for you to have annual exams and regular pap smears, and to talk with your medical provider if you note any changes that may be warts. Gardasil® is approved for women and girls aged 9-26. It is recommended that girls become vaccinated at age 11 or 12 (although it can be started as young as 9 years of age). It has not been studied in older women or in men, although there will be such studies in the future. The vaccine has undergone vigorous efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity trials and has been approved by the FDA. Gardasil® requires three doses and currently costs $127 for each dose. The second dose should be received two months after the first and the third dose six months after the first. Side effects are mild and infrequent and include pain, itching, and swelling at the injection site (similar to other vaccines) and rarely, fever. A woman should not get Gardasil® if she is allergic to it or is pregnant. Check with your own insurance company to see if the vaccine is covered. Even women diagnosed with HPV will derive some benefit from the vaccine because a clinician can't tell which type a woman is infected with, and because she is most likely not infected with all 4 types in the vaccine. All sexually active women are at risk for HPV. It is estimated that 75-80% of all sexually active adults in the United States are infected. Most of these people do not have symptoms and do not know that they have it. For more information, please visit the following websites: www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm  www.gardasil.com