Govt on ‘beti bachao, vaccine lagao’ drive

Abstract

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the govt will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for the prevention of cervical cancer, the second most prevalent cancer among women in India.

Vaccines are available in the market to prevent infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a group of more than 200 related viruses, of which some types are known to cause cervical cancer. The uptake of these vaccines has been slow because of lack of awareness and high cost, which makes the announcement in the Budget signifcant.

The Union health ministry is in talks with the Serum Institute of India (SII), which has developed Cervavac India’s first quadrivalent HPV vaccine, in partnership with the department of biotechnology, to make its vaccine available at affordable costs. [Read More]