A U.S. Centers for Disease Control advisory panel has approved the practice of routinely immunizing 11 and 12 year old girls with the new HPV vaccine Gardasil. The panel also recommended that girls and women aged 13 to 26 should receive the vaccination on the advice of their doctors According to Medical News Today,

“Two HPV strains are responsible for causing 70% of all cervical cancers. Gardasil protects females from these two strains. It also protects against two other strains that are responsible for most genital warts. The treatment consists of three injections, spread over six months.” The whole course costs $360, which reportedly is a high price for a vaccination.

Wellpoint, a large Blues organization, has already announced that it will begin Gardasil coverage. Gardasil is a Merck vaccine.