Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
The Corona virus pandemic has hampered polio vaccination activities around the world and it is feared that there will be an increased risk of children getting polio.
It is estimated that more than 80 million children did not get polio immunization during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has stopped giving immunizations for three months around the world, more than 80 million children have not received the vaccine,” said Head of Medical Sanofi Pasteur Indonesia, doctor Dhani Arifandi, at a conference commemorating World Polio Day every October 24.
World Polio Day is a commemoration to raise global public awareness of the importance of polio vaccination.
Polio is a contagious disease caused by infection with the polio virus.
This virus thousands of years ago attacked the central nervous system of children, causing paralysis. The paralysis remains for life and cannot be cured.
However, polio can be prevented by immunizing polio in children using the OPV and IPV vaccines.
WHO states that polio cases in the world are under control compared to three decades with 125 countries having endemic status.
Currently, there are only two countries that are still endemic to polio, namely Pakistan with 77 cases and Afghanistan with 52 cases. Indonesia has been declared polio-free since 2014.
The success factor for polio eradication lies in the vaccination of all children.
However, this situation can change if immunization is not continued.
“If the world stops polio elimination today, in 10 years, there will be 200 thousand cases per year globally,” said World Health Organization (WHO) representative Vinod Bura.
In the next six months, Bura said every country must work together in efforts to eliminate polio through vaccinations and responsive handling of the outbreak. WHO also recommends administering two doses of the IPV vaccine to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine.
(ptj / ard)
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