INTRODUCTION
On September 29, 2021, MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd will introduce GARDASIL-9, India’s first gender-neutral Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. It is the only HPV vaccination authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) that would aid in the reduction of HPV-related illnesses and malignancies in India. It was initially released in the United States in 2015. Since then, the vaccine has been authorised in more than 80 nations.
GARDASIL-9: HPV VACCINE –
- GARDASIL-9 is a three-dose nanovalent (9-valent) HPV vaccination that helps to prevent HPV-related illnesses and malignancies. MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd has released GARDASIL-9 in India as the country’s first gender-neutral Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
- It is given in three doses over the course of six months, at 0, 2, and 6 months intervals. It protects against nine different HPV serotypes, including 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.
- Girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 are given the HPV vaccination GARDASIL-9, while boys between the ages of 9 and 15 are given the HPV vaccine GARDASIL-9.
- It protects against nine different kinds of HPV and will help to reduce malignancies caused by HPV kinds of viruses in girls and women aged 9 to 26 years, as well as boys aged 9 to 15. This would lower the incidence of vulvar cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer, and anal cancer in females while also reducing intraepithelial neoplasia, genital warts, precancerous or dysplastic lesions, and anal cancer in boys.
GENDER-NEUTRAL VACCINATION FOR HPV –
- HPV is the most prevalent cause of cervical cancer in India, which has the world’s second-highest mortality rate. 7 kinds of HPV serotypes are responsible for about 95% of vulvar cancer cases, 98.3% of cervical cancer cases, 70% of anal cancer, and cases 77% of vaginal cancer cases in India. In all, India reports about 1.7 lakh instances of HPV-related malignancies among men and women each year.
- HPV makes no distinction between males and females. It is standard practice to vaccinate both girls and boys against infectious illnesses. Almost 25 nations now propose ‘Gender Neutral Vaccine’ programmes to protect both girls and boys from infectious illnesses.
HPV-Gender Neutral Vaccines allow for a faster reduction in HPV-related illnesses and improved resistance to transient dips in vaccination coverage.
