Ministry Of Health Says Majority Of Omicron Cases In Indonesia Experienced By Complete Dose Vaccine Recipients

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that 74 percent of the total 68 cases of Omicron in Indonesia were experienced by patients who had received the full dose of vaccine with asymptomatic and mild conditions. However, the public still has to be vigilant because the situation can change quickly," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi through a written statement confirmed via text message in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Friday, December 31. Nadia said within two weeks, December 26 to be exact. 2021, 46 cases of Omicron detected in Indonesia. 15 of them (32.6 percent) are travelers from Turkey. The rest are confirmed cases of Omicron originating from travelers from the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Malaysia, Malawi, Republic of the Congo, Spain, USA, Kenya, Korea, Egypt, and Nigeria. He said as many as 74 percent of Omicron cases had been fully vaccinated. , 80 percent are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and 96 percent of cases are Indonesian citizens.

Screenshot of the Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi while delivering a press statement regarding the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia, which was followed from YouTube FMB9 in Jakarta, Wednesday (29/12/2021). ANTARA/Andi Firdaus

Until December 29, 2021, Nadia said, there were 21 additional confirmed cases of Omicron in Indonesia, which were foreign travelers, bringing the total number of Omicron cases to 68 people. Based on the report from WHO HQ. Enhancing readiness for Omicron (B.1.1.529): Technical Brief and Priority Actions for Member States, 23 December 2021, it is stated that the Omicron variant has faster transmission characteristics than the Delta variant in countries that have experienced community transmission. the severity of the Omicron variant led to 29 deaths. Omicron's estimated risk of admission to emergency care is 15-25 percent lower than that of Delta. The estimated risk of hospitalization or hospitalization of one or more days due to Omicron is 40-45 percent lower. Omicron mutations reduce the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies including Ronapreve or the combination of Casirivimab and Imdevimab. Preliminary data show Sotrovimab can still inhibit Omicron compared to other monoclonal antibodies.

WHO data from calculating the predicted increase in cases due to Omicron compared to Delta and taking into account the level of transmission and risk of severity, it is found that the results are likely to be a rapid increase in the addition of cases due to Omicron. low compared to the Delta period," he said.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health encourages prevention and control efforts as well as other mitigation efforts that must continue to run optimally to anticipate the potential for further waves in 2022. The Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Diseases of the Directorate General of P2P of the Ministry of Health reminded the public to postpone overseas travel for Indonesian citizens because great risk of infection. "If you are abroad, continue to follow the health protocols," he said. Nadia also reminded that the Omicron case had local transmission in Indonesia. The public is asked to be vigilant and to remain disciplined in health protocols. "It should be noted that we have also identified cases of local transmission, meaning that the risk of transmission in the community already exists," he said.