New Vaccine Can Prevent Cervical Cancer

Call (512) 471-4955 to schedule an appointment to get the HPV vaccine.

Each dose of the three-dose HPV vaccine series costs $159 (price subject to change) at UHS.

If you are concerned about the cost of the vaccine, you may qualify for the Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program. Click the link below to see if you could be eligible to receive the vaccine by paying only an administrative fee of $15 (price subject to change).

Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program

If you think you might qualify for this program, come to the UHS Cashier/Insurance Office (SSB 2.106) to complete an application. Call (512) 475-8232 for more information.

Charges incurred at UHS can be paid at time of your visit or billed to your UT Direct ("What I Owe") account. Upon request, we'll give you the documentation you'll need to file a claim for reimbursement with your insurance company. Be sure to check with your insurance company to see if you can file a claim, if they will reimburse you for charges incurred at a "campus health facility," and if they will reimburse you for the HPV vaccine.

If you have already started the series of HPV vaccine at another healthcare facility, you can finish it at UHS. Please bring in documentation of prior doses to your appointment, so that we will administer subsequent doses at the proper time(s).

What is HPV and the HPV vaccine?

HPV (human papillomavirus) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. Each year, approximately 6.2 million people become infected, and as many as half of them are 15 to 24 years old. More than half of all sexually active women and men will become infected with HPV at some point in their lives.

Most HPV infections don’t cause symptoms, and go away on their own. However, there are many types of HPV. Persistent infection with certain types of HPV can lead to cervical cancer, which is one of the most common cancers in women. About 10% of women with HPV will develop persistent HPV infection. Almost all cervical cancers are associated with persistent HPV infection, making HPV a significant public health concern.

On June 8, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an HPV vaccine for females ages 9 – 26. It is administered in a three-shot series over a six-month period.

The vaccine protects against four types of HPV, including two that cause 70% of cervical cancers and two that cause 90% of cases of genital warts. While the vaccine doesn’t prevent all types of HPV infection, clinical trials in women ages 16 – 26 have shown the vaccine to be 100% effective in preventing cervical pre-cancers caused by the four types of HPV targeted by the vaccine.

The vaccine appears to be safe, causing no serious side effects. The main side effect reported is pain at the injection site, but this is reaction is generally mild.

It is currently recommended that girls 11 – 12 years old be routinely vaccinated, and that all females up to age 26 also get the vaccine. Ideally, the vaccine would be obtained before becoming sexually active.

Those who have not been infected by any type of HPV that the vaccine targets would receive the full benefit of the vaccine. However, those who have been infected with one or more types of HPV that the vaccine targets would still get protection from the HPV types they have not yet acquired. (Few young women have all four HPV types in the vaccine.)

The vaccine does not reduce or eliminate the health effects of any HPV type with which a woman is already infected. Vaccinated women still need regular cervical cancer screening (Pap smears) and still need to practice safer sex.

For more information, go to “HPV Vaccine: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” in Related Links.