Press the DBD Spread Number, Palembang Free Vaccination for 5,000 School Children

JAKARTA - The Palembang City Government, South Sumatra, has intensified free dengue fever (DBD) vaccination for 5,000 schoolchildren in the area.

The Regional Secretary (Sekda) of the City of Palembang, Aprizal Hasyim in Palembang, Wednesday, said this in an effort to reduce the spread of DBD. His party collaborated with the DEN 401 Team from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sriwijaya.

This collaboration aims to succeed the Palembang Healthy program which was initiated by the Mayor of Palembang Ratu Dewa and Deputy Mayor Prima Salam.

"One of the concrete steps of this cooperation is the free distribution of DBD vaccines to 5,000 schoolchildren," he said as quoted by ANTARA.

He added that this program is a breath of fresh air for the community, considering that DBD vaccines have only been available in private hospitals at a fairly high cost and have not been included in the national vaccination program.

This activity must be supported and succeeded. Of course, it needs synergy with the Education Service and the Health Service so that this program is well socialized to all levels of society.

He also suggested that the launch of the program be carried out in a representative place so that the echo is wider and able to attract the attention of the public and other stakeholders.

The Head of the DEN 401 FK Unsri Team, dr Ariesti Karmila, explained that the DBD vaccine is actually available in Indonesia, but it is still paid and only available in private hospitals.

Therefore, the grant aid of 5,000 doses of vaccines received by FK Unsri is a great opportunity to reach children from families with limited resources.

"Alhamdulillah, FK Unsri has received DBD vaccine assistance which we can distribute for free to children," he said.

This vaccination program will be carried out in 60 schools spread across the 10 Puskesmas service areas, namely Padang Tuesday, Gandus, Reading Park, Pembina, Kalidoni, 4 Ulu, Kertapati, Makrayu, and Sematang Borang.

School selection is based on data from the Palembang City Government regarding areas with the highest incidence of DBD.

This vaccination program targets children aged 6 to 10 years, an age group considered most vulnerable to DBD infection.

According to Ariesti, although this vaccine can also be given to adults, the main focus remains on children because they are the most affected group.

"This activity has started since the end of November 2025 and is running smoothly. We also monitor children who have been vaccinated and those who have not, to ensure the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine," he explained.

For the general public who want to get the DBD vaccine but are not included in this program, Ariesti suggests accessing vaccination services at private hospitals. However, he reminded that the cost of this vaccine is quite high, namely around Rp. 700,000 per injection, and it takes two injections for maximum effectiveness.

"Therefore, we are very grateful that Palembang has received free vaccine assistance. Not all cities are as lucky as this, because there are some areas that have to buy vaccines themselves," he concluded.