Indonesia Again Faces Polio Outbreak: Get to Know the New Vaccine in the National Immunization Program

Sahabat Hermina, in the last few days, the world of children's health has been shocked again by the presence of 3 confirmed positive cases of polio, 2 cases in Central Java and 1 case in East Java, so it was declared a Polio outbreak again after the outbreak in Aceh in 2022. The child is known to have been immunized against Polio but was incomplete and the child was fully immunized against Polio but was malnourished. The World Health Organization or WHO classifies Polio disease in Indonesia asDiseases Outbreak News (DONs) or disease outbreaks that need to be watched out for.

In mid-2023, the Ministry of Health introduced a new type of vaccine which was added to the national immunization program which the government is starting to implement. There are 4 types of new vaccines, including the Conjugated Pneumococcal Vaccine (PCV) which will provide effective protection to prevent pneumonia (lung inflammation) caused by pneumococcal bacteria and is also expected to be an effort to prevent stunting, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, Rotavirus vaccine (RV) to protect children from diarrhea attacks caused by rotavirus, and a second dose of Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) vaccine to strengthen children's protection from Polio.

IPV immunization itself functions to protect a person from polio virus infection. The second dose of IPV immunization will begin to be given in 2022 in 3 provinces, namely DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten. And in 2023 it will be expanded nationally. According to the Ministry of Health's guidelines, IPV is given twice, the first dose is given at the age of 4 months and the second dose is given at the age of 9 months. Considering that in the last few days the Polio outbreak has occurred, it is very important to pay attention to the type of vaccine and the latest immunization schedule that must be fulfilled according to government recommendations.

Other immunizations such as PCV and HPV are also carried out in stages. In Indonesia, around 14.5% of deaths in babies and 5% of deaths in toddlers every year are due to pneumonia. For this reason, PCV immunization will begin to be included in the national program starting in 2022, given twice when children are 2 and 4 months old and once when children are 12-24 months old. HPV immunization has also been given to elementary school students in grades 5 and 6 and in 2023 it will be introduced as a national program.

Furthermore, the last immunization included in the national program is rotavirus immunization which functions to prevent diarrhea in children. To provide high and even protection, it is recommended to give it 3 times, namely when the baby is 2, 3 and 4 months old. Giving the vaccination itself is easier, namely via mouth drops, not by injection.

In accordance with Health Law Number 36 of 2009 which states that every child has the right to receive immunization in accordance with the provisions to prevent the occurrence of diseases that can be avoided through immunization.

So, we have high hopes for all parents to try to provide support to their children in scheduling complete routine immunizations according to the provisions. Thus, coverage of complete routine immunization can increase so that the goal of immunization, namely the formation of individual immunity, group immunity and cross-group immunity, can be achieved. Stay healthy.