PRESS STATEMENT: ARHP APPLAUDS APPROVAL OF HPV VACCINE

On behalf of The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals’ nearly 11,000 members, we applaud the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Recombinant Vaccine as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing sexually transmitted infections and eradicating cervical cancer. With very few medically proven mechanisms to prevent cancer, the HPV vaccine represents a rare opportunity to prevent cervical cancer, which affects over 10,000 women in the United States each year.

Research demonstrates that this vaccine is both safe and effective in preventing the most dangerous strains of the cancer-causing and highly infectious HPV. The vaccine, along with appropriate screening (including Pap tests and DNA tests), are important measures toward the eventual eradication of cervical cancer through a combined approach: prevention and early detection.