East Java Governor Khofifah Asks Central Government To Accelerate PMK Vaccine Supply

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa/PHOTO of East Java Provincial Government Public Relations

SURABAYA - The Governor of East Java, Khofifah I Parawansa, asked the central government to accelerate the supply of oral and nail disease vaccines (PMK) to break the chain of transmission of livestock diseases in East Java.

"In our opinion, the need for vaccines is very urgent because the transmission of FMD transmission is very fast. Therefore, we hope there will be an acceleration of vaccine supply from the central government while waiting for local vaccines from the Veterinary Farma Center," Khofifah said, quoted by Antara, Friday, June 17.

After arriving as many as 1,000 doses of PMK vaccine from the Ministry of Agriculture for East Java on Friday (17/6), Khofifah directly supervised and monitored the distribution of PMK vaccine injections to livestock ahead of Eid al-Adha.

Accompanied by the Regent of Sidoarjo, Ahmad Muhdlor Ali, Khofifah visited a cattle breeding center in Taman Sidoarjo District where 30 dairy cows were injected with the vaccine.

Of the total PMK vaccine imported by the Ministry of Agriculture, which was 3,000,000 doses, East Java received a quota of 1,500,000 doses. Of these, 10,000 doses have entered Indonesia and 1,000 doses have arrived in East Java on Tuesday (14/6).

Furthermore, 200 doses of the vaccine were distributed to Sidoarjo Regency and 800 doses to Pasuruan Regency. He explained that administering the PMK vaccine to cows requires three vaccines

"The vaccines sent to East Java are still minimal, namely 1,000 doses and only 200 injections have been used. In one opening the vaccine bottle is capable of injecting 100 cows and must be injected. Currently, the priority is for dairy cows," he said.

He emphasized that the priority for injecting this vaccination is for dairy cows given the very limited availability. For this reason, it is hoped that the local vaccine from the Center for Veterinary Farma can be completed in late July or early August.

The Regent of Sidoarjo assessed that the handling of PMK is similar to the handling of Covid-19. The process of spreading through the air makes the spread of the FMD virus faster.

According to Ahmad Muhdlor, the best step in preventing transmission is through protection and isolation. Protection is not carried out in affected areas only, but also in areas where livestock are still healthy.

"So, those who are healthy, please be careful not to go out to stay healthy," he said.