Polio Vaccination Coverage In Indonesia Has Not Yet Been Capai Target, Ministry Of Health Disburses The Cause

The atmosphere of child health measurements prevents stunting in Posyandu, Pagomogo Village, Nagekeo, NTT, Friday, May 6. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) has named a polio case in Pidie Regency, Aceh, an extraordinary incident (KLB). The KLB status because polio threatens the sufferer to suffer from permanent paralysis.

Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, revealed that the national polio vaccination target has not been maximized. He also explained the cause.

"The national polio vaccination coverage is still below the 90 percent target. The cause is the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccine campaigns, and hoaxes about immunization," Nadia told reporters, Monday, November 21.

Therefore, the government has been holding the National Children's Immunization Month (BIAN) since May 2022 to pursue vaccination coverage.

Nadia emphasized that polio immunization is very safe and effective. Its use is approved and supervised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been in use since the 1980s in Indonesia.

There are indeed side effects on polio immunization. However, Nadia said that generally it does not cause fever. The fever that appears after immunization is one sign that the body is forming immunity.

"So, polio can be prevented by immunizing. polio immunization is given 4 times to children aged 4 months. With a high and equitable immunization coverage in each region without exception, children will avoid the polio virus.

For information, polio is a disease caused by the polio virus. Polio can cause permanent paralysis and even death from the failure/absorb of the respiratory system.

The Polio virus spreads through a fecal-oral, meaning that the virus reproduces in the digestive system, and is ejected through feces (stances), then spreads through water. The risk is even greater if sanitation is not good, such as the behavior of defecating carelessly.

Recently, a child in Pidie Regency was declared to have had type two polio. He initially had a fever and flu on October 6. Furthermore, the onset symptoms were paralyzed on his leg felt on October 9. The child was then taken to TCD Sigil Hospital on October 18.

The doctor who examined him then took two samples which were then sent to the province and Jakarta for testing. As a result, the child tested positive for polio on November 10.

The child is experiencing a braking condition in the thigh muscles and he has never received immunization. The Ministry of Health said the child had improved his condition but he had to undergo physiotherapy to maintain muscle mass.