Gay STD Vaccine Use 'A Waste Of Money'

AUSTRALIA - Gay men who are demanding access to the Australian-made "sex disease" vaccine Gardasil may be wasting their money, says the drug's designer Ian Frazer.
The Scots-born former Australian of the Year said while his vaccine probably protects men from genital warts and genital cancers, they would need to get the jab early in their sexual life to benefit.
"It's their money and their choice," said Professor Frazer, who was responding to reports that homosexuals in the UK had been demanding the vaccine.
"But the reality is that adult males who have sex with other males, and who have been in anything other than a monogamous relationship, are very unlikely to benefit."
Gardasil protects against the sexually transmitted infection, human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer, genital warts and other genital cancers.
In the UK, US and Australia it is approved for use in females and males aged nine to 26, with Australian women due to get free immunisations from April.
But UK media reports show that many private clinics are offering it to men, and one in London says it has immunised dozens in the past six weeks.
One British doctor, Sean Cummings from London's Freedom Health clinic, told the BBC he had happily recommended dozens of gay men pay the 450 pounds ($1,120) for the three-dose course.
Demand had been strong because these men wanted to protect themselves and prevent spreading HPV to their partners, sexual health workers told the UK broadcaster.
Other British specialists argue that licensing should be extended to all adults, saying even the most promiscuous person would not have encountered all four strains of HPV found in Gardasil.
Prof Frazer said the evidence did not support this claim.
He said it was true homosexual men were at a much higher risk of anal cancer and genital warts, particularly if they are HIV-positive, because HPV was common and passed around "very enthusiastically".
"But chances are they already have the strains," he said.
He said current licensing recommendations, which exclude adults, were right for the community but if individuals wanted it, they should have it.
"The gain is going to be pretty small, but if they want to do it that's fine," Prof Frazer said.
"They just need to be informed of the facts."
from The Sunday Times