The Health Ministry maintained on Saturday that it is yet to take a decision on starting a vaccination campaign against the human papillomavirus (HPV), despite reports that it is set to offer the vaccine from the second quarter of this year. The National Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended the HPV vaccination for adolescent girls between the ages of nine and 14 years.
The Ministry had earlier said that in June 2022, after evaluating the fresh evidence on the cervical cancer burden and the effectiveness of a single dose of HPV vaccine, including clinical trial data and Sikkim’s experience with the vaccine, NTAGI recommended the vaccine’s inclusion in the government’s universal immunisation programme. This would involve a one-time catch-up shot for nine to 14-year-old adolescent girls, followed by a routine introduction at nine years.
The World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has maintained that the HPV vaccine is highly effective for the prevention of HPV serotypes 16 and 18, which cause 70% of cervical cancer.
