In brief: Health care providers ordering HPV vaccine

Washington health care providers have ordered 28,000 doses so far of the vaccine that offers protection against cervical cancer for young girls, the state secretary of health said Wednesday.

Almost 40 providers in Spokane have ordered nearly 2,500 doses of the vaccine that guards against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, according to the Spokane Regional Health District.

That’s the first installment of the expected 94,000 doses annually of what Health Secretary Mary Selecky called a “breakthrough in women’s health.”

Washington is among a few states nationwide to provide funding for Gardasil.

The state will pay $10 million of the $24 million needed in the next biennium to pay for vaccines to immunize about 31,000 girls each year, Selecky said. The rest will come from federal sources.

The HPV virus is a common cause of cervical cancer, which killed 63 women in Washington in 2005.

There are no plans in Washington now to make the vaccine mandatory, a move that has sparked controversy in other states, she added.

State health officials hope to target girls ages 11 and 12 because the vaccine is most effective before girls and young women become sexually active.

However, the three-dose series of the vaccine – which normally costs $360 – is available from ages 9 through 18 under the state’s childhood vaccination program.

Officials estimate they’ll have enough vaccine to cover a quarter of the girls ages 11 to 18 in the state.

In New Hampshire, the first state to offer free HPV vaccine, demand was so high providers had to create waiting lists.

“We will certainly be watching that,” Selecky said.

Although the vaccine is free, health care providers can still charge to deliver it.

– JoNel Aleccia

Toddler hospitalized after three-car crash

An 18-month-old child was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center with life-threatening injuries after a three-car collision that troopers said might have been caused by a driver looking at his cell phone.

The child’s condition was unknown Wednesday night. Three adults were also taken to hospitals with minor injuries following the wreck on Highway 2 at Mt. Spokane-Day Road about 5:30 p.m., said Washington State Patrol Trooper Scott Lasher.

Witnesses said a man driving a Chevrolet Blazer was looking down at his cell phone when he plowed into the back of a Subaru station wagon at a stoplight, which then was pushed into a Volvo station wagon.

The youngster was properly secured in a child seat when the Blazer hit, Lasher said.

Debris and broken glass were scattered in all directions. A bumper sticker on the Blazer’s dash read, “I’ll be nicer if you’ll be smarter.”

– Christopher Rodkey

Body in Long Lake is missing fisherman

A body was found Wednesday in Long Lake and identified as that of a missing fisherman.

Joe Budik disappeared last week after going out fishing on Long Lake near Tum Tum. His damaged boat was found along the shore May 16.

Spokane County sheriff’s marine officers looked for Budik but gave up their search the night after his boat was discovered as lake conditions changed.

But the search resumed, and the body was found Wednesday afternoon.

– Christopher Rodkey