Controversial HPV Vaccine Faces Stiff Resistance in India Before Introduction

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Ahead of the introduction of a controversial vaccine in India by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the country's right-wing groups have expressed serious concern over the efficacy of the product. Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), affiliated to the ruling BJP's parent organization RSS, has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop any such attempt to introduce the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine in India.

"This will be an unmitigated tragedy," Ashwini Mahajan, Co-convener of SJM told to Sputnik.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer and also causes genital warts, as well as oropharyngeal and other cancers in men.

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"This is a vaccine that was used in unethical trials by PATH of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) funded by Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)-the vaccine manufacturers, that have been blamed for the deaths of many tribal children Andhra Pradesh," Mahajan wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Last month, India's northern state of Punjab introduced the HPV vaccine in Mansa district after the Chandigarh based medical research institute PGIMER published a research paper in May this year after evaluating the impact. But, the controversial part is that the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), the country's apex body that approves the introduction of any vaccine, did not endorse the report and the vaccine.

"They have managed to introduce the vaccine in Punjab although it does not have the approval of the NTAGI. Given the reach and clout of vested interests and how they have influenced PGI Chandigarh, we believe that NTAGI is also likely to be influenced easily," Mahajan warned the Indian Prime Minister.

The right-wing group, which has a major influence over policy-making, requested Narendra Modi to take strong action against groups that pervert science, which bring ignominy to the scientific community in the country and sell out the country to vested interests.

SJM pointed out that the report prepared by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of India castigated the Indian Council Medical Research, Drug Controller General of India, Ethics Committee members, and PATH for the unethical manner in which this clinical trial was done after calling it a demonstration project.

Mahajan also quoted a report of The World Health Organization which shows that the HPV is the vaccine with the highest rate of adverse effects among all vaccines in use. Some of these are seriously debilitating.

 "It has come to the attention of the College that one of the HPV vaccines could possibly be associated with the very rare but serious condition of premature ovarian failure (POF), also known as premature menopause," American College of Pediatricians was quoted as saying in various media reports.

The HPV vaccine has faced stiff resistance in countries like Japan, Ireland, and Denmark in recent months. In Japan, some parents have posted videos of their children suffering adverse effects of the vaccine which is given to the teenage girls to protect them from cervical cancer.