Chapter 14: HPV Vaccine Introduction in Industrialized Countries

Introduction of a vaccine requires the achievement of three initial milestones. These are licensure by a national control authority that determines the vaccine is safe and effective, development of recommendations for use by expert advisory bodies on immunization, and obtaining funding for vaccination. Once these milestones have been achieved, a successful vaccination program requires that a number of interlinked programmatic components be brought together in a coordinated fashion. These include vaccine purchase and supply, vaccination service delivery, high coverage rates, surveillance of the vaccination program, immunization finance policies and practices, and political will. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination provides unique challenges in all of these areas because of the many gaps in our knowledge.