Suvendu Adhikari launches free HPV vaccination campaign to prevent cervical cancer

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday launched a statewide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign aimed at protecting adolescent girls against cervical cancer. Under the initiative, the state government has set a target of covering approximately 7.65 lakh beneficiaries. Officials stated that the programme is aligned with the National HPV Vaccination Programme introduced by the Central Government earlier this year and is intended to support efforts to eliminate cervical cancer as a major public health concern.

Under the vaccination drive, adolescent girls who have completed 14 years of age but have not yet attained the age of 15 years will be eligible to receive the vaccine free of cost. Eligible beneficiaries will be administered a single dose of the Quadrivalent Gardasil-4 vaccine through government healthcare facilities. The programme has been designed to ensure broad coverage among the targeted age group through the existing public health infrastructure.

The state government has identified 881 government health institutions for the implementation of the vaccination campaign. These facilities include medical colleges, district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, state general hospitals and Block Primary Health Centres. Health officials will oversee vaccine administration and beneficiary coverage through these designated institutions across the state.