- Written by GlobalData's senior healthcare analyst for infectious diseases, Dr. Ramya Kartikeyan.

On July 12, 2012, Australia took a stand to become the first country to provide coverage of the Gardasil® vaccine to boys between the ages of 12 and 13, through a National Immunization Program-sponsored school-based initiative. In her press release, the minister of health, Tanya Plibersek, stated that the government-sponsored initiative was targeted to synergize with the current immunization program in girls to decrease the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the Australian population.