Gandhinagar, May 7 (IANS). Under the statewide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign being run for the prevention of cervical cancer in Gujarat, so far more than five lakh adolescent girls have been given the first dose of the vaccine.
According to the state government, till May 6, a total of 5,14,566 out of 5,62,324 eligible adolescent girls have been vaccinated, including girls who have already been vaccinated. In this way the total coverage of the campaign has reached 91.5 percent. On Wednesday alone, 7,913 adolescent girls were vaccinated across the state.
State Health Minister Praful Panseria said the campaign is being conducted across Gujarat under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and no case of any serious adverse effect has been reported so far. He said this shows the safety of the vaccine and the effectiveness of the public health program.
This campaign is being run targeting 14 year old girls. This vaccine is being administered free of cost in government medical college affiliated hospitals, district and sub-district hospitals, community health centers (CHCs), primary health centers (PHCs) and urban primary health centers (UPHCs) across the state.
In the district-wise data, many areas have recorded more than 100 percent coverage. A total of 11,565 vaccinations were administered against 10,622 eligible adolescent girls in Rajkot Corporation, which is 109 percent coverage. In Bhavnagar Corporation, 5,014 vaccinations took place against 4,859 eligible adolescent girls, showing 103 per cent coverage.
In Narmada district, 6,139 girls were vaccinated against 5,962 eligible girls, 2,330 girls were vaccinated against 2,293 in Junagadh Corporation, 4,847 girls were vaccinated against 4,753 in Jamnagar Corporation and 3,207 girls were vaccinated against 3,162 in Gandhinagar Corporation. Coverage in all these areas was between 101 to 103 percent.
Gir Somnath and Aravalli districts also recorded 101 percent coverage. Mahisagar and Surendranagar districts achieved 100 per cent coverage, while Gandhinagar district recorded 100.1 per cent vaccination.
Among the high performing districts, Junagadh and Ahmedabad districts recorded 99 percent coverage. 93 percent coverage was recorded in Banaskantha and Vadodara Corporation, 92 percent in Surat Corporation, 94 percent in Valsad and Panchmahal and 95 percent in Dahod, Anand and Vadodara districts.
96 percent vaccination took place in Bharuch, Mahesana, Tapi and Surat districts. Chhota Udaipur, Kheda, Porbandar and Patan recorded 97 percent coverage, while Botad and Sabarkantha recorded 98 percent coverage.
At the same time, coverage remained relatively low in some districts. 91 percent coverage was recorded in Morbi and Amreli, 90 percent in Devbhoomi Dwarka and Kutch and 88 percent in Rajkot district. In Dang district this figure was 81 percent.
The lowest coverage was recorded in Ahmedabad Corporation, where only 22,813 out of 48,443 eligible adolescent girls were vaccinated, which is 47 per cent.
The state health department said that this campaign will continue till the end of May and has appealed to the eligible families that those 14-year-old girls who have not been vaccinated yet should go to the nearest government health center and get the vaccine.
Health Minister Praful Panseria appealed to the parents to complete the vaccination of girls without any delay and avoid the misleading information being spread on social media. He said such claims are not based on scientific facts and should not stop people from participating in the campaign.
–IANS
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