Himachal Pradesh govt to launch special vaccination campaign against cervical cancer

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the government will launch a special vaccination campaign against cervical cancer, the second most common cancer type among women in India after breast cancer. A meeting in this regard was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner (Shimla) Anupam Kashyap on Friday.

It was informed that ASHA workers will begin a door-to-door survey from March 1 to identify eligible beneficiaries. The nationwide campaign is proposed to start from March 29 and will be conducted every Sunday for three months across designated government health institutions.

Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said, “As per the Government of India guidelines, girls who have completed 14 years but are below 15 years of age will be eligible for a single-dose HPV vaccine, including migrants and destitute children. The vaccine, including Gardasil, will be administered free of cost under the campaign, though it can cost up to Rs 10,000 per dose in the private sector”.