HPV program is a valid effort to address a public health threat; Guest Column

The op-ed by Josh Mazer titled, "Maryland should be upfront about HPV vaccinations for children," falls short of providing an informed and accurate view. In the state of Maryland, human papillomavirus, or HPV, coverage rates lag behind national targets as do rates for other vaccine-preventable diseases.

The Maryland Department of Health follows the guidelines on immunizations as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention'sAdvisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical and public health experts that develop recommendations on use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and can lead to many forms of cancer. However, the vaccine can prevent many forms of HPV related cancers.

In a statewide effort to educate parents on HPV, MDH disseminated information to Maryland residents and medical providers through a variety of mechanisms, including a letter sent to school superintendents.

The June letter asked superintendents to consider distributing educational materials to parents and guardians through schools in their jurisdiction. The letter also provided links to CDC-developed materials. The letter did not - in any way - suggest that public school nurses be forced to market HPV or any other ACIP-recommended vaccine to children in their schools.

Also contrary to Mazer's assertion, MDH did not receive any funding from pharmaceutical companies or pharmaceutical company-funded nonprofit organizations for HPV vaccine or to promote HPV vaccine.

MDH does indeed receive federal funding through the CDC to support the Immunization Program and to manage vaccines distributed through the federal Vaccines for Children program. Through this program, vaccines are distributed to Maryland health care providers to administer to eligible Maryland children who might otherwise not have access to childhood vaccines because of inability to pay.

As part of this support, from 2012-2018, Maryland was allocated the equivalent of $90.1 million worth of HPV vaccine for VFC eligible children and $1.5 million of HPV vaccine for individuals not eligible for VFC.

The facts are, about 79 million Americans are currently infected with HPV and about 14 million people become newly infected each year.

It is the responsibility and mission of MDH to work together to promote and improve the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement. MDH will continue to fulfill this mission and raise awareness for public health issues facing Marylanders.

Dr. Howard Haft is the director of the Maryland Primary Care Program and former deputy secretary for Public Health Services at the Maryland Department of Health.

Credit: Howard Haft - Dr. Howard Haft is the director of the Maryland Primary Care Program and former deputy secretary for Public Health Services at the Maryland Department of Health.