Cervical Cancer: Centre To Provide Vaccines To Girls Between Age 9 And 14 Through Schools

Government to launch a campaign to successfully administer cervical cancer vaccine doses to girls between age 9 and 14.

The government of India had declared that the vaccine for cervical cancer for girls between the age of 9 and 14 is available and will be administered through schools. Cervical cancer is a very common disease suffered by the women of India and on a global scale, India contributes to the largest population of global cervical cancer burden.

The center announced that they will follow a very fixed procedure of administering the vaccine to school students. They will follow a grade-based approach as the enrollment of girls in schools is very high. The girls who might not be able to attend school on the day of the campaign will also be successfully vaccinated at a health facility. The health facility will be administering doses for out-of-school girls through Community Outreach and Mobile teams based on age (9-14 years). For registration, recording, and reporting of vaccination numbers, the U-WIN App would be used.

Game Plan To Successfully Administer The Vaccine To School Girls

The letter issued by the center, which has details about this campaign states that all States and UTs are to issue the necessary directions at appropriate levels and successfully administer the following activities and ensure that the campaign is successful.

• HPV vaccination centers will be organized in schools.
• The officials are to coordinate the campaign with Government School & Private School Management Board in the district.
• Directing District Education Officer to support District Immunization Officer and be part of efforts of District Task Force on Immunization (DTFI) under District Magistrate.
• Appoint a nodal person in every school who will coordinate the campaign and gather the number of girls of age 9-14 and upload their data in U-WIN.
• School teachers are to help generate awareness among all parents regarding this campaign and officials are to make sure of this.
• Make sure they do not miss any school during the campaign.
• The campaign should be conducted only when children are free and in school which means not during their examinations and holidays.

Cervical cancer is a preventable and curable disease, as long as it is detected early and managed defectively. Prevention through vaccination is one of the pillars of the Global Strategy adopted by the WHO for the elimination of cervical cancer.