PEKANBARU – Since the launch of the mass polio vaccine two days ago, currently polio vaccine coverage in Riau Province is still relatively low.
This is because polio vaccine coverage has not reached the daily target of 27 percent. Both target children aged 0-59 months (OPV) and children aged 4-59 months (IPV).
The Head of the Riau Health Service (Diskes), Zainal Arifin through the Head of the Riau Province P2P Division, Dr. Dahlia Eka Okta said, indeed the polio vaccine coverage in Riau for two days had not yet reached the daily target.
“Our daily target is 27 percent, while the vaccine achievement is 11.8 percent. That is the progress of the polio vaccine for two days March 6-7 2023,” Dahlia said, Wednesday (8/3/2023).
Dahlia further explained, of the polio vaccine coverage, Meranti Islands District had the highest polio vaccine coverage of 68.3 percent for OPV, and 64.4 percent for IPV.
“The lowest is Pekanbaru City, with OPV coverage of only 4.7 percent, and IPV only 4.2 percent. This is what we need to accelerate so that the target of 95 percent coverage of polio vaccine in Riau is achieved,” he explained.
Dahlia said polio vaccine coverage was still low in Riau because there were still many people whose children had polio vaccine.
“In fact, polio is to give immunity to children’s bodies, so that children are protected from the polio virus that has been found in Aceh Province,” he said.
Dr. Dahlia emphasized that the side effects of polio immunization, both drops and injections, were very safe. There were no serious or severe side effects arising from polio immunization.
“So drip immunization and polio injection simultaneously, including with other routine immunizations, do not cause side effects,” he said.
The target for the polio vaccine in Riau is specifically for children aged 0-59 months, with a total coverage of 640,001 people, and children aged 4-59 months with a total coverage of 605,337.
For your information, OPV is giving immunity to the polio virus with 2 drops of polio vaccine which will form immunity from the mouth, digestive tract and blood circulation of the child. Immunity in the mouth and digestive tract is very important, because the polio virus enters through the mouth and multiplies in the digestive tract.
Whereas IPV provides immunity against the polio virus with 1 injection of the polio vaccine. IPV immunization will provide immunity to the child’s blood circulation, as well as increase the protection that has been given from OPV immunization, so that children are increasingly protected from the polio virus.
As previously reported, if polio vaccine coverage does not reach the target of 95 percent during the implementation of the mass vaccine until March 13, 2023, the Riau Health Office will carry out sweeping and door to door visits to residents’ homes to inject the polio vaccine.
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