Maharashtra begins statewide campaign to protect adolescent girls from cervical cancer, 5 Mumbai schoolgirls first in state to receive HPV vaccine
Maharashtra HPV vaccination drive begins in Mumbai with five schoolgirls receiving the first doses under the statewide cervical cancer prevention campaign.
Maharashtra has launched a statewide HPV vaccination campaign to prevent cervical cancer. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) Five Class 9 Mumbai girls became the first in Maharashtra to receive the HPV vaccine on Saturday, marking the launch of Maharashtra’s cervical cancer prevention campaign. At the inauguration held at Topiwala National Medical College and Bai Y L Nair Charitable Hospital, the girls from Mazgaon: Jeevika Thakkar, twins Riddhi and Siddhi Harihar, Mahi Chavan and Shamika Sadvilkar from Agripada, were accompanied by their parents, who shared how they learned about the initiative just days earlier through relatives, neighbours, and hospital outreach.
Jeevika’s mother, Reshma Thakkar, said she was informed by her aunt working in the BMC health department that free cancer vaccination would be available for girls of her daughter’s age. “I didn’t know what HPV was, but when I learnt it prevents cancer, I decided to bring my daughter. My father had mouth cancer and my brother had throat cancer, so I felt it was important to protect her early,” she said. Similarly, Kiran Harihar, mother of twins Riddhi and Siddhi, said an aunt visited their home two days ago to spread the word. Mahi Chavan’s mother, Samruddhi, explained that her family consulted a doctor after seeing online misinformation about the vaccine.
Share
