Medically Verified By: Dr. Dhwani Shah, Dr. Shruthi Shivdas
Inside India’s Free HPV Vaccine Rollout: Cancer Specialists Explain Why Early Protection Against Cervical Cancer Matters
Free HPV Vaccination Drive In India: In a major step to support India's fight against one of the most aggressive, yet preventable forms of cancers - Cervical cancer the centre on Tuesday announced that the country is set to roll out a free HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination drive for girls aged 9-14.
According to the global data, every minute, 1 woman dies of cervical cancer, and every 8 minutes, making it one of the top cancers affecting women. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that roughly 660,000 new cervical cancer cases were diagnosed in 2022, resulting in about 350,000 deaths.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India. The country records nearly 80,000 new cases every year, and over 42,000 women die from the disease annually roughly one every eight minutes, ministry officials said. India accounts for about one-fifth of the global cervical cancer burden.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes cervical cancer as one of the most preventable cancers, provided vaccination and screening are made widely available.
A recent dataset release by the global health body has revealed that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India, with the country bearing about one-fifth of the global burden, contributing to roughly 25% of global deaths. Approximately 123,000 127,000 new cases and 74,000 79,000 deaths occur annually, largely due to late diagnosis. This is where early diagnosis and proper treatment come into the picture.
In an exclusive interaction with TheHealthSite.com, Dr. Shruthi Shivdas, Consultant Gynaecologic Oncology, Cytecare Hospitals, said, "Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India, despite being largely preventable. Persistent HPV infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer."
Highlighting the need for early detection and vaccination, Dr Shivdas said, "Administering HPV Vaccine to adolescents before sexual exposure to the Human Papilloma Virus provides long-lasting protection against cervical and other HPV related cancers (oral, anal, vaginal, vulval) and genital warts." Screening sexually active women with HPV DNA tests or pap smears is also an important step towards reducing the burden of cervical cancer. Vaccinate the child and Pap the mother"
India will launch a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine drive for 14-year-old girls in a programme that experts say could dramatically reduce the country's high burden of cervical cancer.
The drive will cover all 1.15 crore girls who turn 14 each year and will run as a dedicated special programme, separate from India's Universal Immunization Program (UIP), Union Health Ministry officials said Tuesday. Vaccination will be voluntary and administered free of cost through government healthcare facilities.
As per the Health Ministry, the free HPV vaccination drive is one of the best tools the government will be using to control the cervical cancer burden in the country. For the vaccination campaign to be rolled out soon, the well-proven vaccine MSD's Gardasil will be used, at least for the first two years.
"The indigenous vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India has not yet been approved by the WHO. Additionally, the efficacy of a single-dose regimen using Cervavac has not yet been established. A call on using this vaccine can be taken at a later date," the officials said. The doses, at present, will come from the GAVI vaccine alliance.
In an exclusive interaction with TheHealthSite.com, Dr. Dhwani Shah, MBBS, M.S. General Surgery, M.ch. Surgical Oncology (TMH Mumbai), Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Prakriya Hospitals, Bangalore, said - "The Government of India's initiative to provide free HPV vaccination is a welcome and forward-looking public health intervention. Cervical cancer continues to impose a heavy burden globally and on Indian women, with nearly 1.2 lakh new cases diagnosed each year. The tragedy is that this is one of the few cancers that is largely preventable."
She further added, "Administering the HPV vaccine to girls aged 9 14 years, before exposure to the virus, prevents infection with high-risk human papillomavirus strains that directly cause cervical cancer. Strong international evidence shows that vaccination at younger ages can drastically reduce cervical cancer incidence."
According to Dr Shah, this initiative represents a powerful step toward primary prevention and long-term reduction of the cancer burden in our country. I strongly urge parents and caregivers to take advantage of this government programme and ensure their daughters receive the HPV vaccine, a simple step today that can prevent a life-threatening disease tomorrow.
India will roll out a special HPV vaccination campaign for 14-year old girls later this month, according to sources from the Union Health Ministry. Here are the basic things that you need to know if you want to get the jab against cervical cancer.
If your child is eligible for the vaccine, make sure to get her the jab. Remember - Prevention is always better than a cure. And when it comes to cervical cancer, there shouldn't be a second thought about makign this simple, yet effective decision.
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