Trauma and posttraumatic stress among 2SLGBTQIA+ populations: Introduction to the special issue.

India recently joined the list of over 160 countries that have included the HPV vaccine in their National Immunization Programme (NIP) with the launch of a free nationwide HPV vaccination campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28, 2026. This initiative is considered an advancement toward the World Health Organization (WHO) global goal of cervical cancer elimination by 2030. The programme aims to vaccinate 1.15 crore girls aged 14. Although India’s decision of including HPV vaccine in the NIP came after a watchful two decades, misinformation about the vaccine flooded social media soon after its launch. Much of this misinformation centered around unverified claims about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, often falsely linked to a misattributed adolescent death case involving the demise of seven girls during the 2009 PATH demonstration project. The misinformation often spreads through forwarded messages, edited videos, and confident claims without credible evidence, frequently promoting narratives about adverse effects, vaccine unnecessariness, conspiracy theories, and mistrust of authorities. To counter the rise in the spread of HPV vaccine-related misinformation, appropriate pre-bunking strategies rooted in inoculation theory are an immediate priority. Literature has identified misinformation, low awareness, sociocultural stigma, and discomfort in discussing sexual health as major factors shaping public perceptions of the HPV vaccine. Charan and Nagarkar further observed that parents of adolescent children tend to depend on informal or unreliable sources of information, resulting in limited guidance from healthcare providers. This also escalates confusion and mistrust regarding HPV vaccination among parents. Current communication efforts also appear insufficient in addressing misinformation, cultural sensitivities, and public concerns related to HPV vaccination. Another CancerWorld article on India’s HPV vaccination programme highlighted that cultural taboos and gender-focused promotion strategies continue to influence societal perceptions of the vaccine. Oommen further observed that the prolonged controversy surrounding the 2009 PATH HPV vaccine demonstration project arose not only from regulatory and ethical shortcomings but also from inadequate communication and the failure of institutions to effectively address public concerns. These shortcomings resulted in the proliferation of misinformation, fueled misconceptions, and postponed the national HPV vaccination rollout for over a decade. These concerns are particularly significant because, despite the availability of the HPV vaccine in India since 2008, the country accounts for nearly 19% of global cervical cancer cases and 23% of cervical cancer-related deaths worldwide (IARC, 2024).