Patiala, June 5 -- Over three months after the Punjab government rolled out its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, with a target to cover 3.11 lakh girls aged 14, only 26,339 have received the vaccine as of June 1, official data shows. The vaccine, which protects girls against human papillomavirus, the leading cause of cervical cancer, is being provided for free at government health centres, otherwise costing between Rs.4,000 and Rs.6,000. The programme uses a single-shot Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine, which provides protection against four HPV types 16 and 18, which cause cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11, which cause genital warts. The government is procuring the vaccine from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. While India has its own indigenously developed cervical cancer vaccine, CERVAVAC, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), it has yet to get the World Health Organization's approval. According to experts, HPV is transmitted primarily through direct skin-to-skin contactduring intimate or sexualactivity. It does not spread through body fluids like blood or saliva. Rarely, a pregnant woman can transfer the virus to their baby during vaginal delivery. Certain strains of HPV (most often types 16 and 18) can cause changes in the cervix cells, a condition called cervical dysplasia. Left untreated, cervical dysplasia sometimes advances to cervical cancer, the second most common among Punjab women, after breast cancer. Thus, experts say, vaccine should be ideally administered before one becomes sexually active. Vaccine builds the immunity, by creating antibodies which prevent human papillomaviruses from making carcinogenic changes. The tepid response to the vaccination drive comes amid a steady upward trend in cervical cancer deaths in Punjab. The state reported 691 deaths in 2021, a figure that rose to 710 in 2025. Overall, Punjab recorded 3,502 cervical cancer deaths between 2021 and 2025, according to Union government data. India accounts for 25% of global cervical cancer deaths. In the world, one in every five women who suffers from cervical cancer is from India and the nation ranks fourth in cervical cancer-related morbidity. Several major districts in Punjab have logged an alarmingly low vaccination coverage. Mohali and Jalandhar have covered only 1% of the targeted population, while Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib have achieved just 2% each; Kapurthala and Moga 3% each; and Patiala, Rupnagar and Malerkotla at 4% each. Amritsar has 15% coverage, Tarn Taran 18%, while Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur have reached 20% and 21%, respectively. Taking note of the poor progress, the health services director last week issued notices to civil surgeons across the state, directing them to ramp up vaccination efforts in their respective districts. Earlier on March 2, right after the campaign's launch on February 28, a meeting of the State Task Force on Immunisation was held under the chairmanship of mission director, National Health Mission. The State Immunisation Officer, Punjab, also held review meetings on March 25, May 5 and May 19. But there's little to show in terms of measurable outcomes. A senior health department official, requesting anonymity, said ASHA workers had been roped in for the campaign and strict instructions had been issued to poorly performing districts to accelerate vaccination coverage. "We are about to touch the figure of 28,000 HPV vaccinations among adolescent girls. It is a good number, but we still have a long way to go. Daily vaccinations have increased ever since the summer vacations for schoolgirls began," said the official. Sources in the health department said one reason behind the poor adoption could be myths around the vaccine's negative impact on female fertility. "These are merely rumours. We are overcoming this hurdle through intensive IEC (Information, Education and Communication) activities. Such rumours surface every time the government launches a vaccination drive," the official added....