PM Modi inaugurates Pan-India HPV Immunization Initiative for adolescent girls
Bhubaneswar(By Abhishek Mohanty): In a landmark public health endeavor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Programme, meticulously targeting girls aged 14 years.
The ambitious initiative seeks to inoculate approximately 1.15 crore adolescent girls annually across all States and Union Territories, with the prophylactic vaccine dispensed gratis at designated government health institutions.
Under this expansive campaign, beneficiaries will receive the single-dose Gardasil 4 vaccine, a quadrivalent immunization formulation designed to confer protection against HPV strains 16 and 18, the principal etiological agents of cervical carcinoma, in addition to HPV types 6 and 11, which precipitate genital warts.
The programme is slated to operate in mission mode for a concentrated three-month period, during which inoculations will be available daily at accredited facilities.
Thereafter, the vaccine will continue to be administered on routine immunization days, ensuring sustained coverage.
Vaccination will be dispensed at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Primary Health Centres), Community Health Centres, Sub-District and District Hospitals, and Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals, underscoring the government’s commitment to cervical cancer prophylaxis and adolescent health fortification at a national scale.
