SC junks anti-HPV vax PIL, says plea has ulterior motive
The Supreme Court of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation filed by a doctors' association challenging the national HPV vaccination program for adolescent girls. The court deemed the plea "anti-vaccine" and suggested it had an ulterior motive, despite the NGO's claim of seeking better adverse reaction mechanisms. The bench highlighted existing compensation systems and World Health Organisation recommendations for the vaccine.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces the Indian government's public health initiatives, particularly the HPV vaccination program aimed at preventing cervical cancer, by rejecting challenges that the court deemed unfounded or driven by ulterior motives. It underscores the judiciary's stance on public health policy and the importance of evidence-based medical recommendations.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Thursday dismissed a PIL by a doctors' association challenging India's nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for adolescent girls to protect them against cervical cancer and said it did not behove medical practitioners to take an anti-vaccine stance.Though the NGO's counsel clarified at the outset that the PIL was not against the vaccination programme but for putting in place mechanisms to take care of adverse reactions and compensation, a bench led by CJI Surya Kant said, "The PIL is definitely anti-vaccine."
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