Virologist: COVID-19 Vaccination Accelerates Pandemic Control

Liputan6.com, Jakarta In some countries that have done COVID-19 vaccination Demonstrated ability to control the pandemic. This is in line with the country’s vaccination program.

“In the UK where vaccination coverage is above 50 percent and America above 40 percent, cases of COVID-19 has gone down by an astonishing number. At the beginning of January 2021, cases in the UK reached 70,000, now only 2000-3000 cases per day, “explained virologist g Prof. Dr. dr. I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccination for health workers in Indonesia, whose coverage is close to 100 percent, shows a decrease in COVID-19 cases compared to before vaccination. So we can end the pandemic soon with vaccination, of course with coverage above 50 percent of the population, especially if it reaches more than 70 percent.

Mahardika also said that later when vaccination coverage in Indonesia exceeds 50%, the 3M protocol: Wearing Masks, Keeping Distance, and Washing Hands should not be relaxed. “Because wearing a mask, for example, will prevent us from infectious diseases, not only COVID-19 but also influenza and other diseases,” he said.

As of Thursday (3/6/2021), there have been 10.9 million people receiving the second dose of COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia.

“Perhaps we can collect data on teachers and public officials who have been vaccinated, whether the data on morbidity or mortality has decreased. If that happens, then once the 50 percent figure is reached, or ideally 70 percent, is reached, we can say that the pandemic is under control,” he said.

Mahardika also gave an example of how herd immunity formed in the previous pandemic. “There is a pandemic called the Spanish Flu. Indonesia was also affected, but at that time there was no vaccine. What happened was that the pandemic lasted three years and ended with herd immunity. So immunity is caused by the transmission of the virus itself,” he said.

Another major pandemic according to Prof. Mahardika also ended with the creation of herd immunity, namely the H1N1 Flu in 2009.

“But it’s a mild pandemic (mild). It spreads very quickly throughout the world, but it does not cause severe clinical symptoms and then also ends because of natural herd immunity,” he said.

Herd immunity both natural and artificial will make the COVID-19 pandemic more quickly controlled. “The assumption is that without a vaccine it will be 3 years, so with a vaccine in 1.5 years it’s over. Once again, I hope that the vaccine will cause us to get out of the grip of this pandemic,” Mahardika said.

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