Today, September 1st, India will receive its first cervical cancer vaccine, Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV). Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, will announce the much-anticipated vaccination at IIC Delhi.
On July 12, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) awarded Serum Institute of India (SII) market authorization to manufacture an indigenously designed vaccine against cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women between the ages of 15 and 44 in India. The breakthrough step for Indian demography will now aid in the prevention of cervical cancer instances.
According to Dr N K Arora, Chairperson of the COVID working group, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), launching a made-in-India vaccine is a wonderful event.
“It’s quite exciting, and I have to admit that it makes us very glad that our daughters and granddaughters will now be able to acquire this much-anticipated vaccine.”
Here’s all you need to know about India’s first cervical cancer vaccine:
The Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) is a cervical cancer vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
CERVAVAC, a qHPV vaccine, has exhibited a significant antibody response that is almost 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV strains and dose and age groups.
According to Dr. N K Arora, “It is quite successful and prevents cervical cancer since this virus causes cervical cancer in 85% to 90% of instances, and this vaccination protects against those viruses. So, if we give it to our young children and daughters, they are protected from infection and, as a result, cancer is unlikely to occur 30 years later.”
