HPV vaccine not covered by student medical fees

By: Leah Bigelow

Posted: 9/26/07

The vaccine given to prevent human papilloma virus, one of the leading causes of cervical cancer in women, can be obtained at the health center right on campus. But this preventative method comes at a cost.

Although students pay a medical fee as part of their tuition, not all services offered are covered in this cost, and HPV prevention is one of them.

"If condoms cost $100, people probably wouldn't buy them either," said Pamela Plasata, a freshman nursing major, in response to the high cost of the three shots that are given to help prevent HPV.

The health center is currently charging $120 per shot.

Melinda Chu-Yang, Peer Health Education Coordinator, said via e-mail that the shots are expensive because this is a new vaccine. She added that most health clinics charge around the same amount for the vaccine.

Rocio Rodriguez, a senior child development major, said the vaccine for HPV "should be free or at least at a low, low cost, since they're talking about how preventable it is."

Chu-Yang said students can see if their insurance company will reimburse them for the payment.

This still might discourage students from receiving the vaccine, said Plasata, because "going through your insurance company is irritating and a hassle."

Although the medical fees that are included in tuition cover all primary care needs, Chu-Yang said that the HPV vaccine is not included in this cost.

Kristen, a Cancer Information Specialist from the National Cancer Information Center, who declined to give her last name, said the vaccine is not a cure for HPV. It will, she said, prevent the two types of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer, as well as the two types that cause 90 percent of genital warts.

There are no symptoms for HPV, except the possibility of genital warts, so women should be tested for the disease regularly, she said.

Some women who test positive for HPV will eventually test negative for the disease within six to 12 months, Kristen said. The body's immunity system is able to fight the disease, she said, and 90 percent of HPV cases will be gone within two years.

HPV may clear up on its own, she said, but it is still important to get the vaccine because of the risk of getting cervical cancer. More than 500,000 pre-cancerous cell changes will be diagnosed in the U.S. each year, she said.

Chu-Yang said that about 20 million people are currently infected with HPV in the United States, and at least 50 percent of men and women who are sexually active will get HPV.

"Students should know that HPV is very common and can be transmitted through sexual activity, not just intercourse," Chu-Yang said.

Although both men and women can carry the disease, said the representative from the National Cancer Information Center, there is no way to test for HPV in men or to treat them for it.

There is no treatment for women either, she said, but the vaccine does prevent someone from getting the disease. This is why it is important, she added, for females who are not yet sexually active, or who are between the ages of 9 and 26, to get the vaccine.