Merck & Co. Thursday said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted the recommendation of an advisory panel that the drugmaker’s vaccine against cervical cancer routinely be given to females aged 11 through 26.

The recommendations for use of the Gardasil vaccine, which provides protection against two strains of the human papillomavirus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer, were issued by the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in June 2006.

“The guidelines state that routine vaccination with Gardasil is recommended for 11- and 12-year-old females and for females ages 13 to 26 who have not previously been vaccinated or who have not completed the full series, and that vaccination with Gardasil can be started at nine years of age,” Merck said in a news release.