Govt plans to train frontline workers ahead of HPV vaccine rollout

The Union Health Ministry is planning to roll out capacity building activities for frontline workers involved in administration of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, sources said.

In her interim budget speech in 2024, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the government will encourage vaccination of girls in the age group of 9-14 years to prevent cervical cancer.

According to sources, the Union Health Ministry has held several meetings and is working on a detailed strategy for the implementation of the same.

"Roll-out of capacity building activities for the frontline workers and IEC (information education and communications) activities for sensitisation purposes are being planned with respect to HPV vaccination," an official source said.

In June 2022, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) had recommended the introduction of HPV vaccine in the Universal Immunisation Programme for adolescent girls in the age group of 9-14 years.

Currently, vaccines by two manufacturers -- MSD Pharmaceuticals and Serum Institute of India -- are available in the Indian market.

MSD Pharmaceuticals' Gardasil 4 vaccine and Serum Institute's Cervavac are quadrivalent vaccines that target four HPV sub-types -- 6, 11, 16 and 18.

MSD's Gardasil 9, which is India's first gender-neutral HPV vaccine, is also available. The 9-valent HPV vaccine targets sub-types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 among Indian girls and women (aged 9-26 years) and boys (aged 9-15 years).

The vaccine helps protect against cervical cancer, vulvar cancer and vaginal cancer among females. It also protects against anal cancer and genital warts in both males and females, sources said.

According to sources, the HPV sub-types 16 and 18 are responsible for the maximum cases of cervical cancer. The WHO has recommended a single-dose administration of the HPV vaccine for optimal protection.

India is home to about 16 per cent of the world's women, but it accounts for about a quarter of all cervical cancer cases and nearly a third of global cervical cancer deaths.

Indian women face 1.6 per cent lifetime cumulative risk of developing cervical cancer and 1 per cent cumulative death risk from cervical cancer, officials had stated.

According to some recent estimates, almost 80,000 women develop cervical cancer and 35,000 die due to this cancer in India every year.