Cervical cancer vaccine to be launched in few months

India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer will be launched in a few months and made available to the people in an affordable price range of Rs 200-400.Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Thursday attended an event held to announce the scientific completion of the vaccine.Scientific completion implies that R&D activities pertaining to the vaccine are complete and now the next step of making them available to the public will take place soon.Speaking at the event, Singh said Covid has raised awareness about preventive healthcare leading to the development of vaccines like the one against cervical cancer.“The schemes like Ayushman Bharat have made us think about preventive healthcare and we can now afford it. The Department of Biotechnology has taken a lead in the matter and are in collaborative mode,” he said.“Scientific efforts at times do not get the scale of recognition they deserve. So this event is to celebrate that scientific completion,” he said.