Jon Huntsman Sr. donated $1 million last year to vaccinate uninsured women against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
The money purchased 8,000 doses of Gardasil. But in the six months since the low-cost vaccine has been available, the state Department of Health has doled out about half that to doctors.
The department doesn't yet know how many of those doses have actually been administered. Health officials are trying to drum up interest in the remaining vaccines, noting the series of three shots are $5 each for women who qualify.
"We're not seeing as much [use] as we'd like to," said Becky Ward, education outreach coordinator for the Utah Immunization Program. "It's a new vaccine. Because it has somewhat of a sexual connotation, some parents may be reluctant to give it. Some providers may be reluctant.
"It's going to take a little time for the information to circulate. . . . It is a cancer-preventing vaccine."
Gardasil protects women from the four types of human papillomavirus that cause the majority of cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.
Huntsman's donation - made after conservative lawmakers refused to fund the vaccinations, saying they would promote promiscuity - pays for women ages 19 to 26 who are uninsured or whose insurance doesn't cover...............
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Health officials want more women to get Gardasil
Few asking to get shots that protect against cervical cancer
Article Last Updated: 02/10/2008 12:43:29 AM MST
