The health ministry wants to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the universal immunisation programme at the earliest. The virus is believed to be responsible for most cervical cancer cases more than 80 percent, according to some estimates. After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India.
According to the national cancer registry data 92,731 cases of cervical cancer were reported in India in 2013, a figure that is projected to go up to 1,00,479 in 2020. HPV vaccine should be administered at 11-12 years of age. Catch-up vaccines are recommended for men at 21 and women at 26 if there was no vaccination earlier.
