Actor
Poonam
Pandey
is
not
being
considered
as
the
brand
ambassador
of
the
government's
national
campaign
to
spread
awareness
on
cervical
cancer,
Union
health
ministry
officials
said
on
Wednesday.
The
clarification
came
after
sources
said
Pandey
is
likely
to
be
the
face
of
the
campaign
and
she
and
her
team
are
in
talks
with
ministry
officials.
Earlier
this
month,
news
of
Pandey's
"death" from
the
disease
dominated
the
headlines
and
led
to
intense
debate
on
social
media.
It
later
turned
out
that
the
news
was
fake
and
was
a
stunt
pulled
off
by
the
actor
and
her
team
to
spread
"critical
awareness"
about
cervical
cancer.
In
a
video,
posted
on
her
official
Instagram
page,
Pandey
on
February
3
said,
"I
feel
compelled
to
share
something
significant
with
you
all
'I
am
here,
alive."
"Cervical
cancer
didn't
claim
me,
but
tragically,
it
has
claimed
the
lives
of
thousands
of
women
who
stemmed
from
a
lack
of
knowledge
on
how
to
tackle
this
disease,"
the
32-year-old
added.
"Unlike
some
other
cancers,
cervical
cancer
is
entirely
preventable.
The
key
lies
in
the
HPV
vaccine
and
early
detection
tests.
We
have
the
means
to
ensure
no
one
loses
their
life
to
this
disease.
"Let's
empower
one
another
with
critical
awareness
and
ensure
every
woman
is
informed
about
the
steps
to
take.
Together,
let's
strive
to
put
an
end
to
the
devastating
impact
of
the
disease
and
bring
#DeathToCervicalCancer,"
she
wrote.
Union
Minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman
in
her
interim
budget
speech
said
the
government
will
encourage
vaccination
of
girls
in
the
age
group
of
9-14
years
to
prevent
cervical
cancer.
The
Union
health
ministry
had
last
month
said
it
is
closely
monitoring
incidence
of
cervical
cancer
in
the
country
and
is
in
regular
touch
with
states
and
various
health
departments
on
this.
In
June
2022,
the
National
Technical
Advisory
Group
on
Immunization
recommended
the
introduction
of
HPV
vaccine
in
the
universal
immunisation
with
"a
one-time
catch-up
for
9-14
year-old
adolescent
girls
followed
with
routine
introduction
at
nine
years",
the
Rajya
Sabha
was
told
in
March.
India
is
home
to
about
16
percent
of
the
world's
women,
but
accounts
for
about
a
quarter
of
all
cervical
cancer
incidence
and
nearly
a
third
of
global
cervical
cancer
deaths.
Indian
women
face
a
1.6
percent
lifetime
cumulative
risk
of
developing
cervical
cancer
and
one
per
cent
cumulative
death
risk
from
cervical
cancer,
officials
had
stated.
According
to
some
recent
estimates,
every
year
almost
80,000
women
develop
cervical
cancer
and
35,000
die
due
to
it
in
India.
Currently,
the
Serum
Institute's
made-in-India
vaccine
against
cervical
cancer,
CERVAVAC,
is
available
in
the
private
market
for
about
Rs
2,000
per
dose.
MSD
Pharmaceuticals
Pvt
Ltd,
a
wholly-owned
subsidiary
of
Merck
Sharp
and
Dohme
(known
as
Merck
and
Co,
Inc
in
the
US
and
Canada)
continues
to
sell
its
HPV
vaccine
Gardasil
4
(quadrivalent
vaccine)
in
India
which
is
currently
priced
at
Rs
3,927
per
dose.