2008 Woodie Awards
Vaccine to be available in fall
Rachel Curry
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: News
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Starting this fall, female DU students who carry student health insurance will have access to full coverage for a new vaccine that reduces the risk of cervical cancer.
While students can currently obtain the shot at the DU Health and Counseling Center, the present student health plan does not cover the $360 cost of the vaccination. The Health and Counseling Center also does not bill insurance companies, so students looking to receive reimbursement for the cost of the vaccine must submit a claim to their own insurance, if they have it.
Starting in the fall of 2007, however, this will change. Beginning in August, students who opt to pay for DU's health insurance in conjunction with the Student Health and Counseling Fee will be eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge. DU's Health Promotion Coordinator, Katie Dunker, applauded the change in the coverage.
"We have worked very hard to cover this vaccine," Dunker said.
Due to plans like this all over the united states, students currently enrolled in college could be the first generation of women to see a significant decrease in cervical cancer as a result of the vaccine.
The vaccine, called Gardasil, prevents cervical cancer by guarding against four strains (6, 11, 16 and 18) of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States.
Two of these strains, 16 and 18, account for approximately 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that one in four girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are affected by the virus.
The vaccine has been the topic of much controversy since its introduction in June 2006. Less than a month after being approved by the FDA, a federal vaccine advisory panel recommended that all girls between the ages of 11 and 26 receive the vaccine. Although the CDC called the vaccine "a breakthrough in women's health," the recommendation of Gardasil has been stalled by price and practicality-something that DU is looking to resolve.
While students can currently obtain the shot at the DU Health and Counseling Center, the present student health plan does not cover the $360 cost of the vaccination. The Health and Counseling Center also does not bill insurance companies, so students looking to receive reimbursement for the cost of the vaccine must submit a claim to their own insurance, if they have it.
Starting in the fall of 2007, however, this will change. Beginning in August, students who opt to pay for DU's health insurance in conjunction with the Student Health and Counseling Fee will be eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge. DU's Health Promotion Coordinator, Katie Dunker, applauded the change in the coverage.
"We have worked very hard to cover this vaccine," Dunker said.
Due to plans like this all over the united states, students currently enrolled in college could be the first generation of women to see a significant decrease in cervical cancer as a result of the vaccine.
The vaccine, called Gardasil, prevents cervical cancer by guarding against four strains (6, 11, 16 and 18) of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States.
Two of these strains, 16 and 18, account for approximately 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that one in four girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are affected by the virus.
The vaccine has been the topic of much controversy since its introduction in June 2006. Less than a month after being approved by the FDA, a federal vaccine advisory panel recommended that all girls between the ages of 11 and 26 receive the vaccine. Although the CDC called the vaccine "a breakthrough in women's health," the recommendation of Gardasil has been stalled by price and practicality-something that DU is looking to resolve.
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