DC calls for effective implementation of HPV vaccination campaign

Deputy Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh today directed officials to ensure the effective implementation of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign aimed at preventing cervical cancer among girls in the district.

Chairing a meeting of the District Task Force at the District Administrative Complex, the Deputy Commissioner asked officials of the Health Department, Education Department and the Women and Child Development Department to work in coordination to successfully carry out the campaign.

Aulakh said the main objective of the HPV vaccination drive is to protect girls from cervical cancer, also known as cancer of the cervix. He informed that the vaccine will be administered to girls who have completed 14 years of age but have not yet turned 15. He directed all departments to extend full support to the Health Department to ensure 100 per cent vaccination coverage among girls in the targeted age group.

Appealing to parents, the Deputy Commissioner urged them to ensure that their daughters receive the HPV vaccine to safeguard them from cervical cancer.

He also instructed the District Education Officer to prepare an accurate list of schoolgirls who fall in the eligible age group. The District Programme Officer was directed to mobilise Anganwadi workers to assist at the grassroots level and create awareness in villages through announcements to encourage vaccination.

Civil Surgeon Dr Gurinderjit Singh informed that the Punjab Health Department aims to make the state cervical cancer-free in the future. He said the primary cause of cervical cancer is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which affects the lower part of the uterus in women. Timely vaccination, he said, is highly effective in preventing the disease. He added that while the vaccine is available at a high cost in private hospitals, it will be provided free of cost at government health facilities.

District Immunisation Officer Dr Harpinder Singh, while giving a detailed presentation, said the vaccine will be administered to girls who have completed 14 years but are yet to turn 15. He said cervical cancer is caused by the HPV virus and vaccination is a safe and effective method of prevention.

Quoting data from the World Health Organization (WHO), he said cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and the second most common cancer among women in India. Despite being preventable through vaccination, it remains a major cause of death among women in the country.

He further informed that registration on the U-WIN portal will be mandatory before vaccination. Under the campaign, vaccination will be carried out at various centres across the district including the District Hospital Nawanshahr, Sub-Divisional Hospital Balachaur, CHC Mukandpur, CHC Saroya, CHC Banga, CHC Rahon, PHC Muzaffarpur and PHC Sujjon.