HPV odds and ends

A few of the relevant items from the media that have crossed our desks this week...

• "How a vaccine search ended in triumph" (New York Times, 8/29) -- Tells the very interesting backstory of attempts throughout the 20th century (and even into the 19th) to understand the true cause of cervical cancer. Even after HPV was confirmed to be that cause, the road to a vaccine was by no means an easy one, including taking researchers to a convent in upstate New York, of all places. For any medical historian, this story is a book waiting to be written.

• "Parents want HPV shots, but can't find them" (MSNBC, from AP, 8/29) -- In many respects, this is a great sign -- reflecting early enthusiasm for the vaccine which may translate to significant vaccination rates long before mandates enter the discussion. That the vaccine is hard to find is no fault of Merck, it appears, but rather the result of the typical bureaucratic maneuvers that follow licensure and ACIP recommendations, including the publication of 'official' recommendations in MMWR, action required by third-party payers to cover the cost of the vaccine, and reluctance by doctors to stock it until the payment landscape becomes clearer.