Court Questions HPV Vaccine Rollout Amid Adverse Event Fears

The Delhi High Court has deemed the Centre's recent decision to implement Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil, under the Universal Immunisation Programme a "very serious matter." This judicial concern arises from a petition that brought to light previous significant adverse events associated with the vaccine. The court issued notices to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), requesting their formal responses.

Petitioners' counsel highlighted that an earlier initiative to introduce the HPV vaccine in 2009, with trials in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, reportedly led to several deaths in 2010. A 2013 Parliamentary Standing Committee Report had identified "grave irregularities" in trial conduct, causing a halt to the rollout. The court is particularly interested in publicly available adverse event data, noting its absence and questioning why an indigenous vaccine, Cervavac, was overlooked.

The government initiated the current single-dose HPV vaccination drive for 14-year-old girls in February to prevent cervical cancer. The court has requested that MoHFW officers directly involved in the current rollout brief the Additional Solicitor General to assist in the proceedings. The High Court will reconvene to hear the case on July 29, with petitioners also requesting the presentation of adverse event data.