Task Force: Vaccines Are Still Effective In Protecting The Body From New Variants

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JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said that health experts stated that the currently circulating COVID-19 vaccine was still effective in increasing the protection of the human body from the new variant of COVID-19 that emerged.

"According to preliminary studies in Europe, this new variant undergoes characteristic changes that are more infectious and avoid the body's immunity than the previous variant. Keep in mind, this conclusion is still temporary and requires further studies," said Wiku Adisasmito, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, June 14.

Based on the results of the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study, said Wiku, the chance of transmission of new variants of COVID-19 such as the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants can decrease in someone who has been vaccinated.

"However, there is no indication that this variant causes more severe symptoms," he said.

Based on data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) on Tuesday, June 14, there are 20 Omicron subvariants consisting of two BA.4 cases and 18 BA.5 cases in Indonesia.

The most BA.5 cases were reported from West Java Province, reaching 12 infected patients. Meanwhile, three BA.5 cases were reported from DKI Jakarta and Bali, each with three cases.

The distribution of the Omicron BA.4 subvariant was reported from DKI Jakarta and Bali with two cases each.

"We certainly hope that there will not be a significant increase in cases despite the discovery of new variants," he said.

In principle, said Wiku, all cases caught will go through an isolation procedure until they are declared negative or cured. In addition, the government continues to increase efforts to track cases through genome sequencing methods as well as carry out epidemiological studies on the distribution of variants.

Efforts to anticipate a spike in cases are also carried out by the government by ensuring the effectiveness of testing tools, especially at state entrances. "This is expected to be able to detect and handle cases of new variants better," he said.