Govt to roll out HPV vaccination drive later this month to prevent cervical cancer: Single-dose shot for 14-year-olds

Every year, 1.15 crore girls who turn 14 years of age will be eligible for the HPV vaccine. “The decision to introduce the vaccine at the age of 14 years was taken because evidence suggests it is the age at which immunisation results in the strongest and longest protection,” officials said.

What is the vaccine to be used?

For the vaccination campaign to be rolled out soon, the well-proven vaccine MSD’s Gardasil will be used, at least for the first two years. “The indigenous vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India has not yet been approved by the WHO. Additionally, the efficacy of a single-dose regimen using Cervavac has not yet been established. A call on using this vaccine can be taken at a later date,” the officials said. The doses, at present, will come from the GAVI vaccine alliance.

The organisation will provide India 2.6 crore doses, of which 1 crore doses have already reached India. The rest will come in to the country through this year and next.

How this vaccine can help prevent cervical cancer?

Persistent HPV infection is known to cause nearly 85% of all cervical cancers. This is important considering cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women, affecting nearly 1.25 lakh and killing 75,000 each year. HPV vaccination using the four most common strains known to cause cervical cancer has been shown to prevent most infections and thereby cancers. Studies from Sweden and England in 2020-2021 also demonstrated that vaccination in teenage years could reduce the risk of cervical cancer by over 85 per cent at age 30.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her 2024 interim budget speech, had said that the government will encourage HPV vaccination.

Why the one-dose regime?

The government has decided to go ahead with a one-dose regimen using MSD’s Gardasil. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is still studying a one-dose regimen using the indigenously developed SII Cervavac.

Experts had earlier proposed a delayed second dose — to be given three or five years after the first shot — giving time to the company to generate evidence. “If the data finds the one-dose regimen to be effective, then the second dose can be foregone,” the source said.

This extended interval between the two doses was recommended by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts to tide over shortages in doses when a country is introducing HPV vaccination campaign. This recommendation was based on findings from the UK and Quebec, Canada — both of which had introduced similar extended interval HPV vaccination. The experience of the two countries showed the antibody levels in both groups — those who received the second dose after six months and those who received it after 3-5 years — was similar.