awesome!

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that 11- and 12-year-old boys routinely receive HPV vaccinations:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/health/policy/26vaccine.html

The article notes that private insurers use the committee's recommendations to determine what vaccines they will pay for and that under last year's federal health-care overhaul, insurers participating in the health-insurance exchanges created by the law must offer the vaccines that the committee recommends as routine.

To Brian and David and all who kept the HPV topic out there, you have saved many lives of our future adults.

Thank you!

CNN dot com has this:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/25/health/HPV-vaccine/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

To Randy's Sister, This was your thread.
Looks like things have changed for your boys!

We have come a long way in the past 5 years with HPV. WAY back then most doctors didn't even recognize HPV as a causative agent for Oral Cancer. Dx'ed in May of 2006 with my Tx ending in Aug I had to fight to even get Moffitt to send my cancer slides to Johns Hopkins to test for the presence of HPV. Testing positive I convinced the St Pete Times to write an article about the male connection to HPV. Because of that I was invited to testify before the Florida House in the Spring of 2007 which was considering a mandatory Gardasil HPV vaccination for girls entering the 9th grade. Before the vote, the sponsor changed it from mandatory to provide an "opt out" clause meaning no one had to get it if they didn't want and despite that it still failed along political lines. My mask and I testified that HPV affected men as well as women and vaccinating females would save lives.

Next Brian asked me to testify on behalf of the OCF before this same committee, the ACIP. That happened in Oct of 2009. I was one of only 6 to be allowed to speak. Previously this Committee had given it's highest recommendation (Routine) for the female HPV vaccination but now was considering the male vaccination. It was evident that the Committee would not listen to logic but would only allow testimony about the vaccine's proven effect on male Genital Warts. Since they wouldn't consider the cost savings associated with preventing all other male HPV cancers the Committee only gave it their Permissive recommendation meaning that parents would have to ask their doctors about it and more importantly the vaccine's cost would be much higher. The Committee said that when the medical community could "prove" it's connection to the other cancers then they would reconsider. We all imagined a lengthy period of time before this issue would be brought up again.

So now just 2 short years later and the Committee using the SAME information it had 2 years ago concludes that NOW it is cost effective to give it it's Routine recommendation. Go figure but no one will complain!

Now the war will start up again at the state level to see if new bills will be introduced to make it mandatory, with or without a "opt out" clause, for either girls or boys or both. I have already placed calls to the previous sponsors here in Fl.

This is a major leap forward for future generations who will not get oral cancer from this virus if parents get involved in prevention. I have been on this since 1999, and the science since then has changed little. What it takes is hammering on the people at the CDC every opportunity.

This story is making all the news wires, and we can thank the Bachman's and Perry's of the world for causing a stink ( in their own self interest to appeal to one portion of the electorate) to do more than the several hundred phone calls I have made to those in power of the last 4 years of really pushing for this.

Sometimes it takes an idiot to build a village. Thank all of you people who do not believe in science for getting this out front and center. You have created what you didn't wish.

David, my hat's off to you (as always). It staggers me to realize that there are still factions within the political community who are warning parents against the vaccine for so-called moral reasons. Predominantly anti-sexual of course, but also under the banner of the "dangers" of vaccinations in general.

The Dark Ages are still live. But thanks to you and Brian and others maybe some lights are coming on.

Awesome work on behalf of the boys in our lives. Is it accurate that the vaccine must be received before the 27th birthday?

Excellent work David and Brian!!! Thank you for what you are doing to bring awareness to HPV+ SCC and the benefits of getting vaccinated. Thru your efforts, many will get vaccinated. This will save many from suffering thru the barbaric treatments or worse, from dying of HPV+ SCC. You both make me proud to be associated with OCF and the good work it does. Hoping more changes will take place and it will be mandatory for everyone to get this important set of shots.