“Are you aware that the Serum Institute has developed a breakthrough indigenous vaccine against cervical cancer? If you’re on social media, you don’t want to miss out on this mind-blowing news! Keep reading to find out all the exciting details.”

The indigenous vaccine against cervical cancer called Cervavac, developed and manufactured by the city-based Serum Institute of India (SII), is now available in the private market. It is priced at Rs 2000/- for a single dose of the two-dose vial. The government sector is expected to roll out the vaccine by the end of this year.

In India, cervical cancer ranks as the second most prevalent type of cancer. It is responsible for almost 20% of the global burden of cervical cancer. Annually, India reports approximately 123,000 new cases and around 77,000 fatalities due to the disease.

Two methods exist to prevent cervical cancer: HPV vaccination for adolescent girls and HPV testing for adult women. HPV testing is recommended for all women aged 30-60, even if they do not have any symptoms, as it is more accurate than pap smears for detecting cervical cancer. It is also recommended that mothers vaccinate their adolescent daughters with the HPV vaccine.

Cervavac, developed by SII in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a vaccine approved in India for girls aged nine to 26 to prevent cervical cancer. It is priced relatively lower than Merck’s HPV vaccine.