Girls aged 14 and 15 can now receive a vaccine free of cost to protect them against virus strains most commonly associated with cervical cancer. The vaccination is being administered at Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital. However, sources said the response has so far been modest, with public awareness about the vaccine remaining low.
The first 11 free doses were given last Saturday when the state-wide drive was inaugurated at the hospital by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari in what was his first official public event in Salt Lake since he assumed charge.
Roster for free shots
Vaccines are being administered free at the hospital on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Girls aged 14 to 15 can book a slot online on the Unwin portal (https://uwin.mohfw.gov.in/home) or simply walk into Room no. 18 on the first floor of the hospital between 9.30am and 2pm with an age proof.
The vaccination is supposed to roll out at 235 health centres across the state, with the Rekjuani Rural Hospital on the fringes of Action Area II being set to start this week. “We hope to vaccinate 7.5 lakh girls in three months. The vaccine costs Rs 4,000 in the market,” said a senior government official at Saturday’s launch.
The chief minister thanked the Centre for providing the state with 7,72,250 doses of the vaccine. “We are implementing the National Health Mission in Bengal. The government of India has allocated Rs 2,103 crore for this, of which the state has already received Rs 527 crore. We have also got Rs 976 crore as the Centre’s share for the Ayushman scheme, under which we are targeting to bring 1.36 crore families, totalling a population of six crore. We have held meetings in this regard. People can avail of treatment costing up to Rs 5 lakh at health institutes located across the country under Ayushman Bharat. This will especially benefit migrant labourers working and students studying outside Bengal,” he said.
A nurse prepares to administer Gardasil 4 vaccine at Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital. The Gardasil 4 vaccine
Adhikari also promised subsidised medicines. “If your monthly expenditure on medicines is Rs 1,000, we will bring it down to Rs 100. Across the state, 467 Pradhan Mantri Janousodhi Kendras are set to open. (The 24-hour Fair Price Medicine Shop at the sub-divisional hospital has been renamed as one). For incurable diseases like cancer, medicines will be available at subsidised rates under the Amrit scheme, which will be rolled out in Bengal,” he said. The Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (Amrit) is an initiative by the government of India that provides life-saving drugs, medical implants, and surgical disposables at discounts of 50 to 80 per cent. He also promised recruitment of doctors, nurses, health workers and technical assistants across the state, to reduce the burden of referrals from the districts on Calcutta hospitals.
A 24-hour control room is being set up at Swasthya Bhavan in Sector V for live monitoring of district hospitals and medical colleges. “We plan to keep vigil on whether any nexus of brokers is operative, if doctors are on duty, if stray dogs and cats are roaming in the complex, if patients are being treated on beds or elsewhere and if the hospitals are clean enough. We will employ private agencies for live monitoring,” he said.
A decision has been taken that private hospitals which have taken public land at Re 1 would be expected to keep 15 per cent beds to treat patients referred by government hospitals free if the latter are running at capacity, he added.
BJP state president and MP Samik Bhattacharya, a BH Block resident, referred to the initial resistance to polio camps and also to the rape and murder of Dr Anita Dewan, a health department official, when she and her team were on their way back from an immunisation drive in Bantala in 1990.
Samik Bhattacharya hands over a vaccination certificate to a girl as Sharadwat Mukherjee and Indranil Khan look on at Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital
The chief minister also took a tour of the vaccination site before taking the stage. Pratyusha Sen and Ashmita Pandey, the first two girls to get the vaccine, got on stage to accept the vaccination certificate from Adhikari. Both are daughters of health workers. It was Ashmita’s 15th birthday on the day. “She is itching to get back home,” smiled her mother, Antara, who is herself a field nurse who administers mother and child vaccines in Rajarhat.
The girls had been warned about possible side effects like fever and nausea. “We have been given medicines to take in case such symptoms are experienced,” said Pratyusha’s mother, Arnisha Sen, who works at Swasthya Bhavan.
Local MLA Sharadwat Mukherjee explained how important the Gardasil 4 vaccine was. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, while cervical cancer is generally the second-most common. An average of 1.5 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in India. The vaccine protects against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes 6, 11, 16 and 18,” the oncologist said, thanking the chief minister for choosing Bidhannagar for the launch. Among these, HPV 16 and 18 are the major cancer-causing strains associated with cervical cancer.
The HPV vaccination programme was rolled out in other parts of India on February 28.
The ministry of health & family welfare has engaged several development partners, including John Snow Inc, a prominent global public health consulting organisation, United Nations Development Programme, Jhpiego, a nonprofit organisation for international health affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, and Unicef, to provide technical, implementation, and strategic communication support for effective and seamless rollout of the programme in West Bengal.