PM launches HPV vaccination drive for 14-year-old girls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign for 14-year-old girls from Ajmer in Rajasthan.

The campaign against cervical cancer was formally inaugurated at a programme held in Kayad, Ajmer, where several girls were administered the vaccine.

The prime minister also interacted with the beneficiaries on the occasion.

According to officials, a single-dose “Gardasil 4” vaccine, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine, will be used under the campaign. The injection provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11. The Union Health Ministry, in an official communication sent to all states on February 25, stated, “All 14-year-old girls across the country will be administered a single dose of the ‘Gardasil 4’ vaccine at Government health facilities, including Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Primary Health Centres), Community Health Centres, sub-district and district hospitals, and Government medical colleges and hospitals.”