KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI
Health workers administer polio immunization to elementary school students during the National Immunization sub-Week in Pidie Regency, Aceh, Monday (28/11/2022). Mass immunization was carried out after the discovery of four positive cases of polio in the district.
CIREBON, KOMPAS — The Cirebon City Health Service, West Java, has not received any reports of cases of acute paralysis due to the polio virus. However, officials continue to intensify polio vaccination and ask residents to complete vaccinations for children to prevent the disease.
Head of the Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Cirebon City Health Service, Sulfianty Irfan, Monday (8/1/2024), said that there were no cases of acute paralysis due to the polio virus. “Our routine polio vaccination coverage is quite good, around 80 percent of the target of 23,157 children,” he said.
This number does not include data on polio vaccination up to four times in December 2023. He is also optimistic that vaccination coverage will reach the target of 95 percent if all the data is entered. At the West Java National Immunization Sub-Week (PIN), last April, polio vaccination coverage in Cirebon reached 103.92 percent.
Also read: Extraordinary Polio Incident Reported Again
Vaccination, he continued, can prevent the polio virus, which generally enters through the mouth due to ingestion of contaminated food or water. This virus spreads in the surrounding environment through feces. Dirty and bad environmental conditions can accelerate the transmission of the polio virus.
Even though polio vaccination coverage is relatively high in Cirebon City, he continued, his party is still intensifying immunization. “We have reminded posyandu cadres to monitor children whose vaccinations are incomplete. They went to people’s houses. “The cadres already have the notes,” he said.
In Cirebon City, there are 344 posyandu spread across hundreds of community units. Each posyandu can have up to 10 cadres and one immunization officer. Sulfianty also asked residents to double-check their children’s polio vaccination coverage. If it is not complete, residents can go directly to the posyandu.
KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO
Health workers provide polio immunization to children under five during World Immunization Week 2023 activities at Posyandu Eri/Kenanga I, Cipondoh District, Tangerang City, Banten, Monday (8/5/2023).
“The vaccine is free, go to the posyandu. “You can also check the children’s immunization book,” he said. Polio immunization is given to children aged 0 to 59 months. His party also appealed to residents to immediately report if they find cases of sudden paralysis in children under 15 years of age.
So far, he claims there are no obstacles to polio immunization. Even though the number has not been confirmed, the current availability of polio vaccine is still safe. His party also has not received the Novel Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2), a new generation polio vaccine, from the Ministry of Health. “We don’t know what the vaccine is yet,” he said.
On the other hand, Sulfianty admitted that not all members of the community understand the importance of polio immunization for children. “Indeed, there was resistance to vaccines in the Argasunya area. However, residents have started to open up. “It is our duty to educate citizens about polio,” he said.
He hopes that community leaders, ulama and other elements of society will support polio vaccination. Moreover, currently there are reports of three children with acute paralysis due to the polio virus. Two children live in East Java, while one other child comes from Central Java.
Previously, Chair of the Ministry of Health’s Additional and Special Immunization Working Team, Gertrudis Tandy, said that the nOPV2 vaccine is currently only used in the implementation of sub-PIN in dealing with the outbreak of type 2 polio or VDPV2. The immunization will take place on January 15, 2024 and January 19, 2024.
The implementation of the polio sub-PIN as a response to the VDPV2 polio outbreak was carried out throughout Central Java, East Java, as well as Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region. The Ministry of Health targets immunization coverage in this activity to reach 95 percent (Kompas.id, 6/1/2024).
Also read: Facing Polio Again
2024-01-08 07:59:01
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