Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : January 13, 2023 2:00 PM IST
Cervical Cancer Can Damage Your Uterus: Here's Why You Should Get Vaccinated At An Early Age?
More than 90% of cervical cancer deaths in women of reproductive age occur in low and middle-income countries. However, there are no national screening programmes to identify preinvasive cancers, and nor are there universally accessible preinvasive treatment options. High-risk HPV infection causes cervical cancers and HPV Vaccination is now in the process of being a national programme in India. Countries must take several critical decisions about vaccine delivery including vaccination sites, timing, and whether it can be integrated with other health or community services. TheHealthSite.com spoke to Dr. Rinku Sen Gupta, Senior Consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital, and here's what the doctor has to say.
In a promising advance in its fight against cervical cancer, India has recently launched its first locally produced version of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The quadrivalent Cervavac vaccine, which protects against the virus strains most likely to cause cancer of the cervix, vagina, and vulva, among others, was developed jointly by the Serum Institute of India and the Indian Government & Department of Biotechnology. Marketing authorization was granted by the Drugs Controller General of India on July 12, 2022, for female and male individuals aged 9 26 years, with the vaccine officially launched on Sept 1. Cervavac costs 200 400 rupees ( 5) per dose, making it much more affordable than existing licensed HPV
vaccines.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 4 1 million women in India have died from the disease since 2019, Previous efforts to control or eradicate the disease in India have been woefully inadequate. Although HPV vaccines have been available in the country since 2008, attempts to establish a national vaccination programme has stalled, mainly due to unfounded worries about side effects, as well as affordability concerns.
The new vaccine will be funded by the Indian Government and distributed via state-run services, with enough doses initially produced to vaccinate nearly 50 million girls aged 9 14 years, As the largest of the Commonwealth nations, India is a key member of this group who has pledged to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.
However, with this gigantic leap, we must keep in mind the challenges of vaccinations through national programmes. Lack of awareness among parents and children, targeting schools and teachers, and logistic obstacles in remote peripheral areas are some of the barriers which will need huge execution strategies at the state and national levels.
