Election Campaign Will Not Affect HPV Vaccination Program: Health Department
Tamil Nadu: The Health Department has announced that the cervical cancer vaccine (HPV) will be administered to adolescent girls without any interruption, even during the election period.
Cervical cancer is caused by a virus known as the ‘Human Papillomavirus’ (HPV). In individuals infected with this disease, cancerous cells spread within the cells of the cervix, thereby affecting the surrounding tissues. If not detected and treated in a timely manner, the cancer can metastasize to other parts of the body, including the lungs, liver, bladder, and rectum. Consequently, the Tamil Nadu government allocated â‚ą38 crore for the HPV vaccine program targeting girls aged 9 to 14 years. Under this initiative—marking a first in India—a plan was devised to provide the cervical cancer vaccine free of cost to adolescent girls in the Tamil Nadu districts of Tiruvannamalai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, and Dharmapuri.
Accordingly, two doses of the vaccine are currently being administered to female students enrolled in government and government-aided schools.
Separately, on the 28th of last month, Prime Minister Modi launched a nationwide program to provide free HPV vaccines to girls under the age of 14. Under this scheme, the Central Government has dispatched 5.30 lakh doses of the HPV vaccine to Tamil Nadu. To date, 37,774 individuals have benefited from this initiative.
All vaccine stocks are being stored at Primary Health Centers and hospitals, from where they are subsequently distributed to the beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, public health officials have stated that election-related activities will not cause any disruption to the vaccination programs being conducted by the Central and State governments. Elaborating on this matter, they clarified that neither the designation of schools as polling stations nor the holidays scheduled after the elections would have any adverse impact on vaccination activities. The HPV vaccine will continue to be administered as usual at health centers and hospitals; within schools, its administration will be carried out in accordance with the specific circumstances prevailing at those locations.
