Indian Mothers Are Opting For HPV Vaccines For Their Daughters. Here’s What We Know

Every year, India reports about 1,00,000 cervical cancer cases. Out of this number, 60 per cent of women die despite it being a treatable and preventable disease. Thankfully mothers all over the country are now opting to vaccinate their daughters against this viral disease. Human Papilloma Virus is a type of virus of which there are more than 100 strains. Taking the vaccine can help protect you from HPV types 16 and 18—the types that cause 80 per cent of cervical cancer cases. Over the years, scientists have found that administering the vaccines to adolescents between the ages of 9-14 years can prove adult women from major protection from cervical cancer caused by high-risk strains.

HPV Vaccines cuts the risk of cervical cancer by 62 per cent

When administered between the ages of 14 to 16, the vaccine can cut down the chances of developing cancer by 62 percent. When offered to women between the ages of 16 to 18, it reduced the risk by 34 per cent. Studies have down that if the HPV vaccine is combined with cervical cancer screening, can reduce cancer to a point where almost no one develops it. This vaccine has been thoroughly tested for efficacy and is recommended to be given to individuals before they make their first sexual contact.

Despite it being so effective, the primary obstacle to getting vaccinated is financial. While India is home to 16-17 per cent of the world’s population, 27 per cent of total cervical cancer cases all over the world are from here. Further, in India about 77 percent of cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV 16 and 18.

Which vaccine is available in India?

In India, we have the option of taking a mono, two, or three-dose HPV vaccine course. The Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunization (IAPCOI) suggests that HPV vaccines should be given as a two-dose regimen, six months apart for girls below the age of 14 years. For those who are 15 and older, the vaccine is given in a three-dose regimen.