Samantha Lilienthal, a senior studying art and geography, got the Gardasil shot, a vaccination that protects women from the human papillomavirus, at her mother’s insistence; however, several of her friends could not afford it.

While studying abroad in Australia, Lilienthal noticed that the shot was free under Universal health care.

“I was like wow, I know people here who can’t get it (because of the costs),” she said.

Hudson Health Center administers Gardasil at $150 per shot if a student does not have health insurance or uses Ohio University’s health insurance. OU’s health insurance does not cover preventive shots such as Gardasil.
Hudson officials declined to comment further.

Cost is just one reason that some women refrain from the shot.

Gardasil has been administered to 20 percent of girls under the age of 18 since its release, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 18 million eligible women have received the vaccine, according to Forbes.

The shot, which is approved and suggested for women between the ages of 9 and 27 by the Food and Drug Administration, causes women’s bodies to form immunities if exposed to the virus, said Dr. Jane Broecker, a pediatric adolescent gynecologist and OB/GYN at River Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology, which has an office at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital.

Gardasil is administered three times over a six-month period. The vaccination helps prevent four different types of HPV, including 70 percent of the types that cause cervical cancer and 90 percent of the types that cause genital warts. According to the Gardasil Web site, there are one million new cases of genital warts in both men and women annually.

The shot can benefit those women already infected with genital warts, Broecker said.

Recently, Gardasil has also been approved as a prevention method for cancers of the vagina and vulva.

Despite these numbers, some girls are not buying into the idea of the shot.

“The biggest barrier is the cost,” Broecker said.

If OU students do not have private health insurance they will have to pay $130 for the shot, Broecker said. The complete set of three doses is $390 at Rover Rose.

“We are hopeful the price will come down,” Broecker said. “It’s a technology that required a lot of research so (the cost) doesn’t surprise me.”

Aside from the cost, some people are concerned about the safety of the vaccine.   

“There is still some fear regarding what the vaccine is,” Broecker said. “People are afraid they can pick up the virus from the vaccine.”

Garadisil does not have the HPV virus in it, Broecker said.

As for other complications, 21 HPV vaccination-related fatalities have been reported to the CDC, Broeker said, adding that serious reactions to the shot are “unbelievably rare.”

“It is highly unlikely there will be any significant negative consequences from getting a vaccine like this, and research hasn’t suggested there will be,” Broecker said.

Despite reports of low HPV vaccination rates, some OU students are getting the shots.

Senior psychology major Lauren Sulick is in the process of getting the complete vaccination. She sees no risks in the vaccines and said she is getting them because cancer runs in her family.

What is not known, Broecker said, is how long the immunity to the HPV virus will last in a women’s body because the shot is new, and a booster shot may be recommended in the future.

“It doesn’t make any sense for someone to avoid the vaccine,” Broecker said.

Still, some students remain skeptical.

“It’s a good idea, but the effectiveness is still questionable,” said OU alumna Emily Rood, adding that she did not want to go through the six-month course for nothing.

Brigitta Burks contributed to this report.