After a slow start, HPV vaccination sees an uptick: 11,000 girls receive the shot

HPV vaccination in Delhi is picking up momentum, with over 11,000 girls receiving the cervical cancer prevention shot as authorities intensify school outreach and tackle vaccine hesitancy. (File Photo)More than three months after India began a nationwide campaign to vaccinate 14-year-old girls against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the national capital has administered roughly 11,000 doses, according to a senior health department official. The figure, officials say, reflects a slow but steadily accelerating start to one of the country’s most important public health drives in recent years, aimed at preventing cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women in India.Launched on February 28, the drive aims to vaccinate approximately 1.15 crore girls annually across India’s states and union territories. Delhi health department officials said participation in the first weeks fell short of expectations, hampered in part by vaccine hesitancy and limited awareness, but has increased sharply in recent weeks as schools and local authorities intensified outreach efforts. “The first few weeks saw low participation, which we had anticipated,” the official said. “The number was only around 1,000 initially. But over the last few weeks, it has risen to 11,000, which shows the campaign is now gathering momentum.” Last Sunday alone, officials administered around 277 doses, among the highest single-day totals since the campaign began, the official said. The push gained pace after education authorities issued directions on March 7 urging schools and local health teams to strengthen awareness campaigns. Since then, teachers and frontline health workers have increased outreach both inside schools and in surrounding communities, officials said. The Delhi health department has also organised weekend vaccination drives and instructed medical officers to work directly with families, encouraging parents to accompany their children to vaccination centres.Story continues below this ad Officials said meetings were recently held with district magistrates and senior administrators to discuss ways to accelerate the campaign before schools reopen after the summer vacation. “We discussed how to expedite the programme and expand coverage further,” the official said. Authorities insisted that vaccine availability had not been a constraint. Delhi has adequate stocks of Gardasil, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine being used in India’s national programme, officials said. Health officials said misinformation circulating online had emerged as one of the biggest challenges to the campaign. Social media platforms, the official said, often amplified misleading or alarmist content about vaccines, fuelling anxiety among parents.Story continues below this ad “Once people start watching negative videos, algorithms continue pushing similar content,” the official said. “That creates fear and distrust around the vaccine.” To counter hesitancy, Delhi authorities focused heavily on schools, conducting training sessions for principals. According to the official, the state health team, alongside representatives from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, organised 39 training sessions in early April. Officials used the sessions to answer questions directly from school administrators and encourage schools to engage parents more actively through parent-teacher meetings and one-on-one counselling sessions. “In many cases, direct interaction helped reduce concerns,” the official said. “We also tried to create a positive atmosphere around vaccination by publicly acknowledging students who participated.” Explained HPV campaign comes amid growing concern over the country’s cervical cancer burden. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India, accounting for more than 1.2 lakh new cases and nearly 80,000 deaths annually, according to GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates. Despite being largely preve