The district’s health department has begun rolling out the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at primary (PHC) and urban primary health centres (UPHC), officials said on Friday.
The vaccination campaign to provide free Gardasil-4 shots to girls aged 14, began on February 26 at the Civil Hospital in Sector 10A and at sub-divisional hospitals in Sohna, Pataudi and Farrukh Nagar. The campaign will now include around 30 UPHCs, PHCs and a polyclinic in Sector 31, according to officials privy to the matter.
Dr Lokveer Singh, chief medical officer of Gurugram, said the decision was aimed at improving immunisation coverage against cervical cancer. “The first phase is focused on providing a free vaccination shot to teenage girls aged 14, which usually costs around ₹4,000 or more at private health facilities. The vaccine is used to protect against four high-risk HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18), among the most common variants posing a serious risk to the health and well-being of women,” Singh said.
According to Singh, phase one of immunisation aims to cover around 30,000 girls by May 31. The health department told HT around 316 girls had received HPV doses at the district’s government hospitals until Friday.
Officials said that the slow turnout was due to initial vaccine hesitancy, a lack of awareness among the targeted population, social stigma and examinations at schools. “The district task force is taking regular meetings to review the rollout status. Anyone can book appointments and receive immunisation at most of the 41 health facilities, barring a few where cold storage-related issues persist,” said Dr Jayprakash Rajliwal, deputy civil surgeon.
Repeated letters are being written to the district’s education department to provide a list of beneficiary girls from all government and private schools to increase targeted awareness drives and setting up of camps, officials said. A letter was issued earlier this week to direct schools in the district to encourage girls, their parents to take the dose, and address their queries at parents’ teacher meetings (PTM), officials said.
{{/usCountry}}Repeated letters are being written to the district’s education department to provide a list of beneficiary girls from all government and private schools to increase targeted awareness drives and setting up of camps, officials said. A letter was issued earlier this week to direct schools in the district to encourage girls, their parents to take the dose, and address their queries at parents’ teacher meetings (PTM), officials said.
{{/usCountry}}Saroj Dahia, district elementary educational officer, said the directions have been forwarded to the schools.
According to health department data, around 62,000 screenings to rule out cervical cancer in the district through VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) and pap smear tests were conducted between April 2025 and March 2026. A total of around 200,000 such cumulative screenings have been completed. The district received around 3,000 HPV doses at the beginning of the immunisation campaign in February.
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