Indian Government’s HPV Immunisation Drive To Help Battle Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer has become the second-most common cancer in India and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is known as the main cause of cervical cancer. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) as many as 4.1 million women have died from HPV in India since 2019. Furthermore, without intervention, this number can increase to 5.7 million deaths by 2070.

In an attempt to prevent the wide spreading of HPV among women and girls, the Indian government has recently announced a nationwide immunisation drive in April for girls between the ages of 9 and 14. The drive will help administer a newly developed HPV vaccine.

The vaccine is developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and offers protection against four strains of HPV, thus helping prevent the leading cause of cervical cancer. Additionally, the vaccine, called Cervavac, will be a more affordable alternative to vaccines by foreign manufacturers that have been available in India so far. Cervavac will be available between ₹ 200 to 400 per dose. Want to know more about the vaccine? Click here

"We have prepared a proper roadmap and a social mobilization strategy for the vaccine rollout. Our experience with the COVID vaccine program has helped us immensely," N.K. Arora, the chairperson of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization, told Deutsche Welle in an interview.

Image used for representational purposes only.