(NEWS RELEASE)
U.S. advisers recommend Gardasil HPV shots for boys
CHICAGO - U.S. vaccine advisers on Tuesday voted to recommend that boys should be routinely vaccinated with Merck & Co's Gardasil vaccine to protect them from human papillomavirus or HPV infections, which cause genital warts and oral, penile and anal cancers in boys and men, and cervical cancers in women.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voted unanimously to recommend routine use of Gardasil in 11 to 12-year-old boys, with 13 yes votes and one member abstaining.
Previously, the CDC has said doctors are free to use the vaccine in boys, but it has stopped short of recommending routine vaccination. Currently, the CDC recommends HPV vaccinations made by Merck and GlaxoSmithKline for girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26.
(BIO)
Dr. Zahrain St. Jean is a family medicine physician at MetroSouth Medical Center and practices in the Blue Island health center. As a family medicine physician who also delivers babies, Dr. St. Jean cares for patients from the very beginning to the very end of life. She attended Xavier University in Louisiana for undergraduate studies and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. Born in Chicago, Dr. St. Jean recently returned to the Windy City three years ago. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and four children. Her treatment philosophy is to give the same care and attention to her patients that she would give to her own family.
For a complete bio, visit http://healthconnect.metrosouthmedicalcenter.com/primary-physicians/dr-st-jean/
For more information on MetroSouth Medical Center, go to metrosouthmedicalcenter.com.
