JAKARTA - Head of the Monkeypox Task Force (kacar monkey) of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (PB IDI), Hanny Nilasari, recommended that the procurement of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bvariant Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccine be prioritized to suppress the occurrence of monkeypox in Indonesia.
"The vaccine that we recommend is MVA-BN, taking into account its efficacy and security," said Hanny in an online media briefing that was attended in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, September 21.
The MVA-BN, which is used as a third-generation chickenpox vaccine (smallpox), is effective and safe to be given to monkeypox patients with immunocompromised conditions or with congenital immune disorders.
In addition, MVA-BN is also safe to be given to patients over the age of 18, children, and 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.
As for the provision of vaccines for monkeypox, Hanny said that his party did not recommend being widely used, but focused on three priority groups, namely health workers, especially those who carry out close examinations of infections, people who have close contact with confirmed positive patients, and people who have sexual contact with partners or multi-partners as well as homosexual groups.
The problem, according to Hanny, is that Indonesia itself was actually free frompox in the 1980s so that mass use of smallpox vaccines was no longer needed.
"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.
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