JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Nihayatul Wafiroh, urged the Ministry of Health (MoH) to immediately take quick and measured steps following the phenomenon of an increase in influenza cases, which has recently been widely referred to as the 'super flu' subclade K variant.
Wafiroh encouraged the Ministry of Health to prepare alternative vaccines as a precautionary measure. He emphasized that the government, especially the Ministry of Health, must ensure the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine currently available in Indonesia against the K subclade variant.
"If the existing vaccines do not provide adequate protection against the K subclade, we ask the Ministry of Health to immediately conduct a retest, be transparent in the publication of the results, and develop a plan to anticipate alternative vaccines that are more effective," Nihayatul told reporters, Wednesday, December 31.
The head of the health commission also encouraged several strategic steps from the Ministry of Health to overcome the threat of the super flu.
He explained, first, evaluating and re-testing the effectiveness of current influenza vaccines against subclade K. Second, transparency of clinical trial data and influenza virus surveillance results in Indonesia.
"And third, I ask for an acceleration in the development or procurement of alternative vaccines that are more effective if it is proven that the current vaccine has low effectiveness against the dominant variant," said the legislator who is familiarly called Ninik.
Ninik also assessed the need for closer collaboration between the DPR, the Ministry of Health, experts, and global health organizations to ensure that Indonesia is not left behind in the response to the seasonal influenza epidemic.
"Where this case is also getting more complex," he said.
For information, subclade K is a new form of influenza A (H3N2) virus that has recently dominated the wave of flu cases in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States (US), Australia, and Japan.
Although the world health authorities say this variant is not inherently more deadly, its high transmission rate is causing a surge in cases and putting pressure on health facilities.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to date in the US it is estimated that there have been millions of cases of influenza this season and tens of thousands of hospitalizations, most of which are related to the H3N2 subclade K.
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