Young Women are Invited to Take a Shot Against Cervical Cancer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
Contact
Candi Crause, Director
(217) 531-5372 /
Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927
Young Women are Invited to Take a Shot Against Cervical Cancer
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Now Offers HPV Vaccines
Champaign, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) now offers Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for women ages 18-26 during weekly STD clinics. These clinics, located at 201 West Kenyon Road in Champaign, are held on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 5:00pm and Thursdays from 9:00-11:00am and 1:00pm – 3:00pm. HPV shots are given in a series of three injections over a six-month period and have been proven to be highly effective in preventing four types of HPV in young women who have not been previously exposed to HPV. CUPHD accepts Medicaid / IPA, Visa/MC, or cash for services, and will not turn anyone away for inability to pay.
“The HPV vaccine has proven very effective against the genital human papillomavirus,” said Candi Crause, Director of Infectious Disease for CUPHD, “Most people infected with HPV do not show any symptoms, making it easy to transmit the virus to others through sexual activity. HPV infection can lead to a series of health-related issues including cervical cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.”
Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. Most sexually active people will get HPV at some time in their lives, though most will never even know it. It is most common in people in their late teens and early 20s. Ideally, the vaccine should be administrated prior to onset of sexually activity, but studies have shown that sexually active women gain some benefit from vaccination. The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women.
HPV vaccination is important since HPV has been directly linked to cervical cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 12, 000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 4,000 women die from this disease in the United States. HPV is also associated with several less common types of cancer in both men and women. It can also cause genital warts and warts in the upper respiratory tract.
The HPV vaccine has been licensed by the FDA and approved by the CDC as safe and effective. Studies have found no serious side effects. The most common side effect is soreness in the arm where the shot was given. There have recently been some reports of fainting in teens after they got the vaccine, so it is recommended that patients wait in their health care provider’s office for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine.
The only sure way to prevent HPV is to abstain from all sexual activity. For those who are sexually active, condoms may lower chances of getting HPV, if used all the time and correctly. Condoms may also lower the risk of developing HPV-related diseases such as genital warts, but HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom – so condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
For more information about HPV vaccinations, STD clinics, or any other CUPHD programs and services, please call 217-352-7961 or visit CUPHD on the web at www.c-uphd.org.
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