K'taka to administer HPV vaccination to 37,470 girls in 4 districts

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka will ad minister Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to 37,470 eli gible girls in eight taluks of Tumakuru, Bellary, Chitradurga and Vijayanagar districts at a cost of Rs 4.74 crore, the health depart ment said on Wednesday. It was proposed in the Budget 2025, that Rs 9 crore will be allocated in the first phase of the project to administer HPV vac cine to 14-year-old girls in 20 taluks of the mine-affected and Kalyan Karna taka regions.

A proposal in this regard was approved by Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC) in a meeting held on June 5, the department said in a government order. As per the government order issued on Wednesday, 14-year-old girls from economically backward families in the identified eight taluks, with Priority Household (PHH) Ration cards, will be administered the vaccine in the first phase.

The required vaccines will be procured through Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Lim ited (KSMSCL) and implemented by the Vaccine Division of the Health and Family Welfare Department in accordance with the provisions of the Kar nataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act 1999, stated the order.

The order also noted that although HPV has more than 200 strains, some of the more danger ous viruses like HPV 16 AND 18 are associated with cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second highest cause of death among women in the country, and vaccination is the only way to tackle the cancer caused by the HPV virus, explained the order.