HYDERABAD: 14-year-old A Kavyasri from Barkatpura became the first beneficiary of Telangana’s free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive at the govt hospital in Koti on Saturday. Her mother, A Sahitya, had been seeking the vaccine for two years.Kavyasri was among the first five girls to receive the dose as the state formally rolled out the free-of-cost programme, part of a nationwide effort to prevent cervical cancer among adolescent girls.Under the initiative, girls aged 14–15 years are eligible for a single dose of the Gardasil-4 vaccine, administered voluntarily with parental consent and presence. After vaccination, beneficiaries were moved to the Adverse Events Following Immunisation room for observation.“Although the vaccine is safe, we monitor each child for at least 30 minutes to rule out any immediate reactions,” a doctor overseeing the AEFI room said. Family welfare commissioner Sangeetha Satyanarayana said the vaccine will be available for amonth at govt general hospitals, area hospitals and community health centres before expanding to selected primary health centres. In private hospitals, the same dose costs between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000.Officials clarified that Saturday marked the formal launch, while routine vaccinations across facilities will begin from March 8, International Women’s Day. The state has received about 1.4 lakh doses against an estimated eligible population of over 3 lakh girls, including those out of school.Parents can register on the centre’s U-WIN platform or opt for walk-in vaccination at notified facilities. “Vaccination will be limited to designated centres due to mandatory observation and cold-chain requirements,” Satyanarayana said. The consent-based programme will be supported by awareness campaigns, with supplies released in phases based on uptake. The drive is funded under existing public health allocations, including the National Health Mission, through centre–state cost sharing.
