Centre dispatches another batch of HPV vaccines to State

Centre has dispatched 1,90,890 doses of HPV vaccine to Andhra Pradesh in the second phase, and these will be distributed among districts according to the requirements, said Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav.

It may be noted that the Union government had earlier dispatched 1,90,800 doses of the vaccine, administered to 14-year-old girls to protect them from infections caused by HPV (human papillomavirus) and also cervical cancer.

In a press statement on Monday (April 06), the Minister said the administering of vaccine to girls, being taken up as part of the nationwide Central programme, will go on till May. According to the release, there are 3.45 lakh girls aged 14 in the State, and out of these, 1,14,512 (33.19%) have received the vaccine doses by Monday afternoon.

The highest numbers of vaccine administration were recorded in Kurnool district at 6,785, followed by SPSR Nellore at 6,726, YSR Kadapa at 6,725, and Anantapur at 6,655. The lowest numbers were recorded in the districts of Polavaram at 669, Alluri Sitarama Raju-1,063, Sri Sathya Sai-2,769, and Anakapalli-2,959.

The Minister said vaccines are being administered to the girls at 1,645 primary health centres (PHCs) and urban primary health centres (UPHCs), which are equipped with cold chain facilities. The Minister said no instances of any adverse reaction to the vaccine has been reported so far in the State.