All those headlines about Gardasil appear to be paying off, at least for Merck.

In New Hampshire, where state officials offer shots for free, demand is outstripping supply, prompting some healthcare providers to create waiting lists. The program started in January and the state expected to vaccinate only about one-quarter of eligible girls this year, but advertising has stimulated demand, says state Public Health Director Mary Ann Cooney.

“I’ve got to say that the public is clamoring for it,” says Elizabeth Sanders, a family practitioner in Concord. New Hampshire, which only pays for vaccination for girls up to age 18, was the first state to approve free distribution of the vaccine, which can protect against strains of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer.

Of course, it’s not just the advertising that prompted demand. The mandate controversy was hard to ignore, and that got parents talking about it in ways, most likely, that Merck’s ‘One Less’ ad campaign couldn’t have done.

And though Merck was widely criticized for some of its tactics - such as funding Women In Government, some of whose members then introduced bills in state legislatures - the publicity kept Gardasil in the public eye for weeks.

The publicity may have sullied Merck’s corporate reputation in some quarters, but it also raised awareness of the vaccine and HPV. And that’s the kind of publicity money can’t buy - not entirely, anyway.

Source: CNN/AP[tags]Gardasil, HPV, Merck, Vaccines[/tags]