Friday, Sept. 15, 2006
C a b r i n i
C o l l e g e
The Loquitur Y o u S p e a k, W e L i s t e n
www.theLoquitur.com
Radnor, Pa.
Wiesel to deliver speech
New vaccine to prevent HPV
BRITTANY LIBERATORE NEWS EDITOR BCL722@CABRINI.EDU Nobel Prize winner, author, professor and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel will be delivering the keynote address at Cabrini’s 2006 President’s Convocation. Wiesel’s appearance will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Nerney Field House of the Dixon Center. Wiesel is a man of many titles, one of which is author. He has written over 30 books including “Night”, an autobiographical account of Wiesel’s survival in the Nazi death camps. This book records the experience of Jewish people in the concentration camps. “Night”, considered by many to be one of the most important pieces in Holocaust literature, is a book that all incomWIESEL, page 3
WHAT’S INSIDE
A&E Emmy’s Review Page 11
Sports Women’s Soccer
Page 14
Vol XLVIII, Issue 2
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM/MCT
The HPV vaccination will come in a series of three shots over six months and will be priced at $360.
AMANDA FINNEGAN EDITOR IN CHIEF AJF724@CABRINI.EDU Despite recommendations from the American College Health Association, Cabrini’s health services has decided to not administer the HPV vaccine, until further discussion. Both Eastern University and Villanova University are not carrying the vaccine. “Cabrini is still considering whether we will carry the vaccine
or not. With it being so expensive, it may not be cost effective,” Susan Fitzgerald, the coordinator of health services said. The ACHA’s VaccinePreventable Diseases Committee unanimously voted in favor of a recommendation that females, ages 11 to 26, receive the vaccine. The majority of college health centers follow the board’s decisions as it is generally held as top authority in college health, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggested this past June that 11-and12-year-old girls be vaccinated against HPV, the human papillomavirus. HPV is responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases. The vaccine, Gardasil, would be the first vaccine designed to specifically prevent cancer. Gardasil also protects from two other types of viruses that cause 90 percent of genital warts. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease found in women and can be detected through the Pap Test, however, Gardasil is not meant to take the place of the Pap Test. The virus affects over 50 percent of sexually active adults. The cervical cancer caused by HPV kills 290,000 women worldwide, according to The New York Times. According to Merck & Co., the makers of the vaccine, Gardasil is affective for five years and long term studies are still in the works to see if a booster shot is needed later in life. According to Kerri Stiles, the office manager at Penn Medicine at Radnor, some local schools are carrying the vaccine while others are opting out. “Penn State University is carrying the vaccine but The University of Pennsylvania is not,” Stiles said. The price for Gardasil is not as quick and painless as the shot may be. At $360 for a series of three over six months, parents and young adults alike are going to find it difficult to pay for the vaccine.
The big question is: Is the vaccine worth the price? Merck said that the vaccine could cut global deaths from cancer by two-thirds. After the committee’s ruling, at least one insurance providerWellPoint Inc.- announced it would cover the vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is known to influence insurance provider’s decision as to what vaccines they cover, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The committee also voted to add the vaccine to the coverage list for the Federal Vaccines for Children program which provides vaccines for underprivileged children. Stiles said that more insurance companies may hop on board after the Morbidity and Mortality
Facts and Figures •HPV •HPV is is responsible for 70 70 percent percent of of all cervical cancer cancer cases cases •The •The cervical cervical cancer caused caused by by HPV kills 290,00 290,00 women women worldwide •It •It affects affects over over 50 percent cent of of sexually sexually active adults adults •For •For more more information on on HPV HPV visit visit the website: www.theHPVtest.com. www.theHPVtest.com.
HPV, page 3
‘Morning-after-pill’ cleared for wider sales KATHERINE BRACHELLI NEWS EDITOR KB727@CABRINI.EDU
The Food and Drug Administration approved the over-the-counter sales of Plan B, a contraceptive drug that will be available to women 18 and older, as long as buyers show proof of age. Plan B is often referred to as emergency contraception or the “morning after pill.” Plan B is used to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. It is in the form of two levonorgestrel pills that are taken by mouth. The over-the-counter sale
of Plan B has been greatly debated, according to the New York Times. Plan B will only be sold in pharmacies and health clinics. Some campus health centers, such as the University of Texas, plan to make the emergency contraceptive available. Susan Fitzgerald, coordinator of health services, said, “Because of the mechanisms of action of the ‘morning-after-pill,’Cabrini College health services would never dispense or prescribe this medication.” Nationwide over-the-counter sales will begin by the end of the year, according to Barr Pharmaceutical, manufacturer of PLAN B, page 3
DAN SQUIRE/PHOTO EDITOR
The emergency contraceptive, commonly referred to as the ʻmorning-afterpillʼ can soon be found in pharmacies.