FDA to Approve Cervical Cancer Vaccine
PHILLIPS: Well, you don't have to be a super spy to come up with this piece of intel. General Michael Hayden will probably be confirmed as CIA director possibly as early as next week. In yesterday's Senate hearing, Democrats questioned Hayden's judgment in developing that domestic surveillance program at the NSA. But majority Republicans strongly backed him up. A cancer prevention breakthrough. A new vaccine is the horizon, a potential life saver for thousand of women, even young girls. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has a closer look.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're all used to bringing our children in to get vaccinated against measles or mumps or chicken pox. But how about bringing them in to get vaccinated against cancer? Well, that may be happening in the near future to girls. Here's the way it would work. An FDA panel has recommended approval of a vaccine for cervical cancer. The full FDA has yet to consider it, but they will very soon. The way it would work is that they would vaccinate girls, perhaps as young as 9 years old. That's what they did in the studies to show that it was safe. The vaccine would protect against 70 percent of cervical cancers. That is, cervical cancers that are caused by two strains of the Human Papilloma Virus. The way this disease works is that a woman gets this virus from a man through sexual contact. And two strains of this virus cause 70 percent of cervical cancers. The vaccine would also help prevent against genital warts. Now one of the details that hasn't been quite worked out here is who would pay for this? This vaccine costs between $300 and $500. It's not clear right now if insurance would pay for it. Now some religious groups have had some problems with this shot. Because what this shot is doing is you give it to a girl before she becomes sexual active, and it's to prevent against infection from a sexual transmitted virus. And some religious groups feel that it's kind of telling girls that it's OK to be promiscuous, because they're protected against this kind of infection. However, so far, those voices have not been particularly loud, and this FDA panel has recommended that its use be approved. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.</s>PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, more on the GITMO clashes. Detainees at Guantanamo Bay attacking U.S. guards. We're on the story. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.