HPV vaccine against cervical cancer rolled out in Kerala

HPV vaccination was rolled out in Kerala on Saturday as part of the nationwide initiative to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer.

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty inaugurated the HPV vaccination drive. Senior Health officials were present on the occasion.

The HPV vaccine, being provided free of cost as part of the national immunisation drive, is being administered to 14-year-old girls at all government health centres. The girls should have completed age 14 but should not cross 15 years.

On Saturday, 14 eligible girls were provided the vaccine. The State expects the cohort of 14-year-olds in the State to be around 2.6 lakhs.

Nationwide, the HPV vaccination drive is targeting 1.15 crore girls of 14 years of age. The programme is using Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine that protects against HPV types 16 and 18 (which cause cervical cancer), as well as types 6 and 11.

People can register through the U-WIN portal (https://uwin.mohfw.gov.in/home)or directly visit their nearest health centre.

Vaccination is voluntary and informed consent from parents/guardians is being obtained prior to administration. The special campaign will run in mission mode over a three-month period, during which eligible girls can receive the vaccine daily at designated facilities.

Thereafter, the vaccine will become part of the Universal Immunisation Schedule and will be available on routine immunisation days at all government facilities.

HPV vaccines are among the most extensively studied vaccines globally with more than 500 million doses administered worldwide since 2006. Scientific evidence demonstrates 93–100% effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer caused by vaccine-covered HPV types.

An estimated 99.7% of cervical cancer cases are caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). While most HPV infections are asymptomatic and resolve spontaneously, persistent infection can lead to cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in India. In addition to cervical cancer, HPV infection can also cause anal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancers.

However, in Kerala, the incidence of cervical cancer has been on a steady decline over the past several years.

The cervical cancer incidence in the State is eight per lakh population (against the national incidence rate of 11.6/lakh) and hence it no longer figures among the top five cancers affecting women in Kerala. The low incidence rate is attributed to the vast improvements in women’s health and hygiene, better sexual practices, education and health care access in Kerala

Kerala had launched its own initiative to provide HPV vaccination in November last for adolescent girls aged 16-17 years. However, this was done as a pilot programme in Kannur district alone and only girls from BPL families were covered.

The initiative was launched using CSR funds and the State had utilised a “Make-in-India” quadrivalent vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, “Cervavac”. Vaccines worth ₹16 lakh had been procured by the State.

Now that the Centre will be provisioning HPV vaccine under routine immunisation, the State will wind up its HPV vaccination initiative as soon as the procured stocks are exhausted, officials said.