Cervical Cancer :: Bill would require cervical cancer vaccine for girls

The Kentucky bill would require girls in public and private middle schools to get the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, which is aimed at four strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, also known as HPV. Two of the strains cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.

The cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, invented by University of Louisville researchers & University of Queensland?s Centre, was approved last year by the US federal government for use by girls and women ages 9 to 26.

Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, who introduced the bill, said similar bills are being pushed across the nation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended immunization schedule for children and teens, which for the first time includes the cervical cancer vaccine.