This is what we chase every week
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The decline in immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to cause outbreaks of a number of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination, an official from the Ministry of Health said.
“Due to immunization coverage that is not achieved there is a potential for outbreaks in cases of diseases that can be prevented by immunization (Immunization Preventable Diseases / PD3I),” said Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health Maxi Rein Rondunuwu in a Hearing Meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives followed by from the Indonesian House of Representatives’ YouTube in Jakarta, Monday afternoon.
He said that until November 20w1 there were 147 suspected diphtheria reports with 90 specimens examined in the laboratory and 23 of them were confirmed.
In addition, 54 cases of Measles and 91 cases of Rubella were reported. More than 80 percent of reports experienced patients with incomplete immunization status or unclear vaccination history.
He said the national immunization program had experienced success in 1980, including the eradication of smallpox, a polio-free certificate in 2006, the elimination of metarnal and neonatal tetanus in 2016.
However, national complete basic immunization coverage until October 2021, he said, had only reached 56.5 percent of the target of 78 percent of the target population. Provinces that are close to the realization target include Bengkulu, Banten, South Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Bangka Belitung.
Complete basic immunizations for children include Hepatitis B, BCG, Polio, and DPT.
“From 2019 to 2020 there will be a decline, because it is related to COVID-19. However, the difference in numbers before the pandemic is not too far away,” he said.
Also read: Ministry of Health: Complete children’s basic immunizations while waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine
Maxi added that there is a chance that the national immunization coverage in 2021 will increase because so far only 19 provinces have submitted reports.
“This is what we pursue every week,” he said.
He explained that the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, had requested that the national immunization coverage be surveyed every year, because periodic surveys every five years have not provided an accurate picture of target achievement.
Challenges faced by the immunization program during the pandemic, including the procurement of vaccines which were hampered by distribution to districts/cities due to full vaccine storage warehouses in the regions.
“The strategy will be accompanied by the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and routine immunizations to be increased so that they do not accumulate in warehouses,” he said.
In addition, he said, health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic tended to concentrate on handling COVID-19 patients. The emergency pandemic situation also forced the posyandu service to close.
“We are also faced with the problem of people who have doubts about vaccines and have difficulty penetrating remote areas,” he said.
Also read: Immunization of children during a pandemic must still be carried out
Maxi ensured that the Ministry of Health had prepared a strategy to overcome all these challenges, one of which was the involvement of the TNI-Polri to penetrate to remote communities as well as vaccination education for target community groups.
The agenda for the DPR Commission IX Hearing Meeting was attended by the Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health, the Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices at the Ministry of Health, the board of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), the management of the Indonesia Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (Itagi), and administrator of the Indonesian Gynecological Oncology Association (HOGI).
The meeting discussed the implementation of the regular vaccination program, the development of the discussion of the national immunization program for PCV, HPV, and Rotavirus, as well as preparations for the 2021 School Children Immunization Month Program (BIAS).
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Reporter: Andi Firdaus
Editor: M. Hari Atmoko
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