The Importance of Childhood Immunization: Let Us Pursue Delayed Immunizations

Immunization is an effort to actively generate or increase a person's immunity against a disease so that if they are exposed to it one day, they will not get sick or only experience a mild illness.

Vaccines are antigens in the form of microorganisms that are dead, still alive but weakened, still intact, or parts thereof, which have been processed into microorganism toxins that have been processed into toxoids, recombinant proteins, which, when given to a person, will cause active specific immunity against certain infectious diseases. There are 12 types of vaccine-preventable diseases (PD3I) in the national immunization program, namely: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis, measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, meningitis, pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis, and human papilloma virus.

The goal of immunization in general is to reduce morbidity, disability, and death from diseases that can be prevented by immunization (PD3I). The specific goals are to achieve coverage of Complete Basic Immunization (IDL) in infants in accordance with the RPJMN target, to achieve Universal Child Immunization/UCI (minimum percentage of 80% of babies receiving IDL in a village/kelurahan) in all villages/kelurahans, to achieve the target of advanced immunization for children under two years old (baduta) and for elementary school-aged children and women of childbearing age (WUS), to achieve.

Compulsory immunization is immunization that is required by the government for a person according to their needs in order to protect the person concerned and the surrounding community from certain infectious diseases. Compulsory immunization consists of routine immunization, additional immunization, and special immunization.

Routine immunization is an immunization activity that is carried out continuously according to a schedule. Routine immunization includes both basic and follow-up immunization. Basic immunization includes vaccines against Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), Pentabio (DPT/Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae types), Hepatitis B, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), and Measles. Follow-up immunization is repeated immunization to maintain the level of immunity or to extend the period of protection. This immunization is given to children under three years old (toddlers), elementary school-age children, and women of childbearing age. Follow-up immunizations include the DT, Td, and TT vaccines.

Additional immunization is given to certain age groups who are most at risk of disease according to epidemiological studies at a certain time period. Additional immunization activities include fighting the backlog, the crash program, PIN (National Immunization Week), Sub-PIN, the catch-up campaign for measles, and immunization in handling outbreak immunity (ORI).

Special immunization is an immunization activity carried out to protect the community against certain diseases in certain situations.  Certain situations include preparations for the departure of prospective Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, preparations for travel to certain disease-endemic countries, and conditions of extraordinary events. Specific types of immunization, among others, consist of meningitis vaccination, meningococcal vaccination, yellow fever vaccination, and anti-rabies vaccination.

Selective immunizations are immunizations that can be given to someone according to their needs in order to protect them from certain infectious diseases, namely the MMR, Hib, Typhoid, Varicella, Hepatitis A, Influenza, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, and HPV vaccines.

To ensure long-term protection, immunize children as soon as possible and complete them according to schedule and age category. 

Friends of Hermina who wish to obtain child vaccine services at Hermina Arcamanik Hospital should consult the service schedule or call the call center at 1500-488 or 896-7270-1027. 

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