Pune: The civic body has collaborated with a few city-based NGOs to vaccinate all girls studying in classes 8 and 9 in municipal schools against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Earlier, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had approved procurement of 1,500 doses of "Cervavac", an anti-HPV vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India. However, with each child requiring two doses, only 750 children could be vaccinated.
PMC has enlisted the help of a few NGOs to vaccinate all 3,000 girls eligible for vaccination in civic schools. These NGOs will provide enough vaccines to ensure that all the girls are covered under this campaign. The anti-HPV vaccine is crucial to preventing cervical cancer — the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in India.
Human papillomavirus mainly spreads through sexual contact. To prevent this, two doses of HPV vaccine can be given to girls between the ages of 9 and 14, while young women aged 15-24 are given three doses. However, the optimal age for giving the vaccine is before a girl turns 14 and before her first sexual contact, ensuring maximum protection against the virus for life.
In Feb this year, the Union ministry said that it would "encourage" inclusion of anti-human papillomavirus (HPV vaccine) in the universal immunization programme (UIP) to prevent cervical and other cancers in women. However, this vaccine is yet to be included in UIP. Earlier, TOI had highlighted that despite the announcement by the finance minister during her bu.