Gurugram, April 4 -- The district's health department has begun rolling out the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at primary (PHC) and urban primary health centres (UPHC), officials said on Friday. The vaccination campaign to provide free Gardasil-4 shots to girls aged 14, began on February 26 at the Civil Hospital in Sector 10A and at sub-divisional hospitals in Sohna, Pataudi and Farrukh Nagar. The campaign will now include around 30 UPHCs, PHCs and a polyclinic in Sector 31, according to officials privy to the matter. Dr Lokveer Singh, chief medical officer of Gurugram, said the decision was aimed at improving immunisation coverage against cervical cancer. "The first phase is focused on providing a free vaccination shot to teenage girls aged 14, which usually costs around Rs.4,000 or more at private health facilities. The vaccine is used to protect against four high-risk HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18), among the most common variants posing a serious risk to women," Singh said. Singh said that phase one aims to cover around 30,000 girls by May 31. The department told HT around 316 girls had received doses at government hospitals until Friday. Officials said that the slow turnout was due lack of awareness among the targeted population. A letter was issued earlier this week to schools to encourage girls, their parents to take the dose, and address their queries at parents' teacher meetings (PTM), officials said. Saroj Dahia, district elementary educational officer, said the directions have been forwarded to the schools....