IDI Rekomendasikan MVA-BN Sebagai Vaccine Cacar Monkey, Who Beriksa Penerimanya?

YOGYAKARTA The Executive Board of the Indonesian Domer Association (PB IDI) said that the third generation of chickenpox (smallpox) vaccine, Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bvariant Nordic (MVA-BN) can be used as a monkeypox vaccine.

Head of the Task Force for PB IDI Monkeypok, Hanny Nilasari, said that the MVA-BN vaccine could suppress the spread of the monkeypox virus in the country.

"The vaccine that we recommend is MVA-BN, taking into account its efficacy and security," said Hanny, behind VOI.

Hanny assessed that the MVA-BN vaccine is safe for monkeypox patients with immunocompromised conditions or those with congenital immune disorders. In addition, MVA-BN is also safe to give to patients over the age of 18, children, to pregnant women.

"So this is effective and safe to use for patients with various ages and various conditions," said Hanny.

Although he will not eliminate the total infection of up to 100 percent, Hanny said that giving the best vaccine would certainly minimize the occurrence of further complications. For information, the most common complications reported in monkeypox patients so far are related to the composition of the central nerve.

"Although this is still in the research to find a cause why infection can combine to attack the central nerve structure. So we hope that with vaccination, complications will become milder or even if the patient is infected there will be no complications," he said.

Related to this, Hanny said that his party did not recommend being widely used, but focused on three priority groups, including:

Monkeypox Vaccine does not need to be used regularly

Hanny said that MVA-BN as a monkeypox vaccine does not need to be used en masse, considering that Indonesia has been free frompox disease since the 1980s.

"Indeed, the protection for smallpox vaccination against the monkeypox virus was reported at 85 percent. I think by maintaining patient immunity and identifying patients and treating them comprehensively, there is no need for mass vaccination," said Hanny.

"So we still have to study whether this smallpox vaccination is indeed indicated widely used in Indonesia because it is proven that in Indonesia there is no chickenpox," he continued.

For this reason, Hanny also suggested that the provision of antiviral drugs and vaccines for monkeypox should be decentralized at the appointed District/City Health Office, so that its distribution can be more efficient and on target for groups at risk. Moreover, considering that the current production of monkeypox vaccines is still very limited.

"An antiviral and vaccine drugs should be decentralized at the Regency/City Health Office which is appointed with a request flow set by the Ministry of Health so that it is not distributed directly to hospitals," said Hanny.

Monkeypox Vaccine Given to High Risk Group

Previously, the Indonesian Ministry of Health set a target for monkeypox vaccines to be given to high-risk populations to prevent transmission and severe symptoms when infected with the monkeypox virus.

"The target, according to epidemiologists, is high-risk people who need to be vaccinated. So later we will see the population that needs to be vaccinated," said Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices (Dirjen Farmalkes) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health Rizka Andalusia on September 15, quoted from Antara.

He said the Ministry of Health had entered into a contract to order 2,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine which was estimated to arrive in Indonesia this year.