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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 2, 2006 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~j~_ <br />SUBJECT: Approval of New Fee for Gardicil Vaccine for Health Department <br />DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Rosemary Summers, 245-2411 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approving a new fee for Gardicil vaccine for the Health Department. <br />BACKGROUND: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted <br />disease in the U.S. Certain HPV strains can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Gardacil, <br />a new vaccine from Merck and Company, was licensed in-June. It protects against 4 strains of <br />HPV that are responsible for approximately 70% of all cervical cancers and 90% of all cases of <br />genital warts. The vaccine is administered as a series of 3 intramuscular injections over a <br />period of 6 months. <br />The State Immunization Branch will be supplying Gardacil only to clients eligible for the <br />Vaccines for Children Program (VFC), early next calendar year, leaving many of the Health <br />Department's clients without access to this vaccine. In the VFC program, children age 9-18 are <br />eligible using the following criteria: <br />• Medicaid eligible <br />• Uninsured <br />• American Indian or Alaskan Native <br />• Underinsured (insurance does not cover full cost of vaccines; those with co-payments or <br />deductibles are not considered to be underinsured) who receive immunizations at a <br />Federally Qualified Health Center or Rural Health Center <br />Since June, the Health Department has had many women call to inquire about the availability of <br />the vaccine, stating that access to the vaccine has been very difficult to find through their regular <br />medical providers. <br />The Orange County Health Department is proposing to offer Gardacil to non-VFC clients in the <br />Family Planning, Child and Adolescent Health, and Immunization programs. The vaccine is <br />licensed for females from 9 to 26 years of age. The guidelines from the ACIP (the national <br />committee that develops. immunization guidelines) recommend the vaccine for all young women <br />