West Bengal Unveils Large-Scale HPV Vaccination Campaign for Young Girls

West Bengal has introduced an extensive HPV vaccination campaign aimed at protecting over 7.65 lakh adolescent girls aged 14 from cervical cancer, following a national initiative. The programme offers free vaccinations at selected government health facilities to girls under 15 years of age.

West Bengal has rolled out an ambitious Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme, intended to safeguard adolescent girls from cervical cancer. The initiative targets over 7.65 lakh girls who are 14 years old, extending a protective measure across the state.

The campaign is a regional extension of a national programme launched earlier, and it hopes to decisively contribute towards preventing cervical cancer. Girls who have reached the age of 14 but are still under 15 will receive a free dose of the Gardasil-4 vaccine at specified government health centres across West Bengal.

The vaccination effort will be carried out at 881 certified government health facilities, which include medical colleges, district and sub-divisional hospitals, as well as state general hospitals and block primary health centres.