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Cervical Cancer Vaccine Order Decried

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Los Angeles Times

Published: October 22, 2008

A cervical cancer vaccine that has been recommended only for U.S. residents has become a requirement for all new female immigrants ages 11 to 26, sparking an outcry over the order's safety and cost.

"It's outrageous," said Sara Sadhwani, project director for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles. "It seems absolutely premature to mandate this for immigrant women."

The requirement went into effect Aug. 1 and will affect more than 130,000 immigrants a year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2006 approved the vaccine Gardasil for females ages 9 to 26 to block strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-old girls, with catch-up shots up to age 26.

Unknown to many immigrant and health advocates, a 1996 immigration law directs the Citizenship and Immigration Services to require that new immigrants receive any inoculation recommended for U.S. residents by the CDC's immunization panel.

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