The photo has been used for symbolic representation. Awakening
Jagran correspondent, Gorakhpur. The government has taken concrete initiatives to prevent the rapidly increasing cervical cancer in women. Now preparations are being made to make expensive vaccines available free of cost to prevent this deadly disease.
By running a special campaign in the new year, the first dose of protection against cervical cancer will be administered to about 60 thousand girls aged 14-15 years at 40 centres. This campaign will bring great relief to those families, who till now were not able to get the benefit of the vaccine for their daughters due to the high cost.
The main cause of cervical cancer is human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. This infection gradually becomes serious and can cause cancer if not identified on time. The HPV vaccine provides protection against this infection and reduces the risk of cervical cancer to a great extent. The price of this vaccine in the market is four to five thousand rupees, which has been a big hurdle for ordinary and economically weak families.
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By making it available free of cost at the government level, now a large number of adolescent girls will get the protective cover in time. The Health Department has identified vaccination centers in all urban and rural areas of the district. The plan is to make this campaign successful through schools, Anganwadi centers and community health centers. Officials say that along with vaccination, awareness programs will also be run so that parents and adolescent girls can understand this disease, its causes and methods of prevention.
Staff nurses and employees are being trained to administer the vaccine and maintain the cold chain. During the campaign, the health of the girls will be monitored and in case of any problem, immediate medical assistance will be provided.
-Dr. Rajesh Jha, CMO