For several years, a growing body of evidence has suggested that just a single dose of the vaccine may be as effective as two are, offering decades of protection against the virus, which is estimated to cause roughly 700,000 cases of cancer each year. More than 50 other countries have already adopted the one-dose schedule, and many experts hoped that the United States might follow suit this year. The decision rests, primarily, on the deliberations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a vaccine-advisory committee to the CDC. ACIP was initially expected to put to a vote, as early as next week, the questions of HPV-vaccine dosing and, simultaneously, whether to strengthen the recommendations that advise vaccination starting at 9 years of age. Several experts told me that they had tentatively expected both motions to pass, making HPV vaccination easier, cheaper, and quicker. The HPV vaccine is one of the most powerful vaccines ever developed: It is unusual among...
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