Andhra Pradesh Nears 100% HPV Vaccination Coverage, Reaches 98.47%

Andhra Pradesh has vaccinated 98.47% of its eligible girls under a major HPV immunisation drive aimed at protecting them against cervical cancer, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said on Thursday.

The state has been offering the vaccine free of cost to girls aged 14 and 15. Of the 3,45,377 girls identified as eligible for the campaign, 3,40,108 had received the HPV vaccine by Thursday afternoon, while efforts are underway to vaccinate the remaining 5,269 girls by August 31. The minister said extensive awareness campaigns by the coalition government had helped overcome early misconceptions and encouraged more parents to get their daughters vaccinated.

The Centre had initially asked states to complete vaccination of the identified beneficiaries by the end of August. However, with coverage remaining low in some states, the deadline has now been extended to December 31. Andhra Pradesh is also set to receive 1,90,890 additional doses from the Centre for girls who have newly turned 14. Officials have asked eligible girls to visit their nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) or Urban Health Centre with their parents to receive the vaccine.

Since the campaign began, Andhra Pradesh has received 3,81,780 HPV vaccine doses in two phases and has made effective use of the available supply, according to the government. After December 31, HPV vaccination is expected to become part of the state's routine immunisation programme.

State Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Chakravarthy Babu said no adverse reactions had been reported among the more than 3.40 lakh girls vaccinated so far. He said the vaccine was both safe and effective in preventing cervical cancer. Beneficiaries are kept under observation for 30 minutes after vaccination, while the programme is being conducted at PHCs and Urban Health Centres equipped with cold-chain facilities. The state is administering the Gardasil-4 quadrivalent HPV vaccine as a single 0.5 ml intramuscular dose in the left upper arm.

Districts reporting 100% or higher coverage include Anakapalli (103.93%), Bapatla (103.54%), Chittoor (102.15%), Kakinada (103.51%), Konaseema (104.12%), Krishna (103.52%), Kurnool (100.72%), Markapuram (112.64%), Nandyal (101.83%), NTR (100.58%), Palnadu (103.49%), Parvathipuram Manyam (101.51%), Tirupati (103.67%) and YSR district (105%).

Coverage between 90% and 99.99% was recorded in Anantapur (94.57%), Annamayya (95.81%), East Godavari (99.52%), Eluru (94.30%), Prakasam (96.45%), SPSR Nellore (95.22%), Sri Sathya Sai (96.37%), Srikakulam (98.12%), Visakhapatnam (92.31%), Vizianagaram (98.84%) and West Godavari (99.19%). Below 90% were Alluri Sitarama Raju (54.51%), Guntur (87.20%) and Polavaram (73.68%).