WASHINGTON, DC (May 18, 2006) Today, an advisory panel with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unanimously recommended for approval a vaccine to prevent HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer.

"This is very encouraging news,” said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. “With 10,000 American women contracting cervical cancer each year and 4,000 deaths from the disease annually, women deserve to have access to a safe, effective vaccine that could save their lives.”

The committee also voted that the vaccine was safe for use in young women as young as 13 years. This is extremely important, as the vaccine is most effective when administered to youth before they become sexually active.

While this is a key first step in making the vaccine available to all women, it is no guarantee. Some ultra-conservatives have raised concerns about the HPV vaccine in the past, as it would interfere with their agenda of promoting abstinence as the only means of preventing HPV. And recent history provides evidence that, even with an advisory committee’s recommendation, politics and ideology can interfere with public health and could stop the vaccine from being approved.

"Given this Administration’s track record, the approval process for this vaccine will need to be monitored closely at each and every step,” warned Wagoner. “We must remain vigilant.”

The FDA is set to make its final decision by June 8.