TIRUCHY: Only around 2,000 girls have received the free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Tiruchy district in the six months since its rollout, despite the Health Department identifying over one lakh eligible beneficiaries and maintaining adequate vaccine stocks across government health facilities.
Officials attribute the poor uptake to the programme’s dependence on voluntary participation, unlike the earlier school-based pilot drive that recorded near-complete coverage.
According to the Health Department, over 10,000 girls aged 14 years (those who have completed 14 years but are yet to turn 15) have been identified within the Tiruchy Corporation limits, while the district has over one lakh eligible girls for vaccination. The vaccine is available free of cost at all Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Urban Health Centres and government hospitals.
“The issue is not vaccine availability. Stocks are available in all government facilities. The challenge is that parents have to voluntarily bring their daughters for vaccination after giving consent, and many are still waiting for it to be organised through schools,” a senior health official told TNIE.
Health officials said the vaccine is administered to girls immediately after they complete 14 years of age, before exposure to the Human Papillomavirus, which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancer cases. A single dose at this age provides optimal protection, whereas vaccination at a later age may require additional doses.
The previous DMK government had launched a pilot HPV vaccination programme in Ariyalur, Perambalur, Dharmapuri and Tiruvannamalai in January this year through the state’s school education and public health network, targeting around 27,000 girls.
After schools created awareness and obtained parental consent, vaccination was conducted on campus, with officials reporting near-complete coverage in the pilot districts.
Following the union government’s decision to include the HPV vaccine in the national immunisation programme, TN expanded the programme across all districts in February.
However, unlike the pilot, the vaccine is currently not administered through schools and does not form part of the routine school health screening under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK). Instead, eligible girls must visit government health facilities voluntarily to receive the vaccine.
“TN has requested permission to administer the vaccine through schools, but the centre is yet to issue the necessary guidelines. During the pilot, schools played a key role in counselling parents and obtaining consent, which resulted in excellent coverage. We believe school-based vaccination will significantly improve acceptance,” another health official said.
Officials said the department has begun stepping up awareness campaigns through schools by involving teachers and counselling parents. Until school-based vaccination receives approval, they said, the district will have to rely on awareness drives and voluntary participation to improve coverage among thousands of eligible girls who remain unvaccinated despite adequate vaccine availability.