Pune: Maharashtra has extended its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive until December after covering just 8% of its target population, nearly seven months after the campaign was launched to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer.
The government should issue authorisation letters allowing private doctors to approach schools and conduct awareness programmes and vaccination drives.” Dr Sanjay Patil, national secretary of the Hospital Board of India and the IMA, said, “Maharashtra should study how other states have achieved 100% coverage.
The campaign was initially expected to be completed within three months, before HPV vaccination was integrated into the routine immunisation programme. Public health minister Prakash Abitkar had appealed to MLAs and MPs a few months ago to help ensure that eligible girls in their constituencies received the vaccine. Health officials have held three workshops in Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur to improve awareness and participation.
Launched on March 8, the drive aims to vaccinate 984,414 girls aged 14-15 years. However, only 82,059 had received the vaccine by October 5, according to the state health department’s latest report.
