City authorities to carry out massive polio vaccination<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Following the discovery of polio cases in Sukabumi, West Java,
\nlast week, the neighboring Jakarta administration revealed on
\nWednesday that it plans to take preventive measures by carrying
\nout a massive vaccination program for all babies and toddlers in
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
\"We will launch a massive vaccination program for all children
\nbelow five year old in the city on May 31 and June 28,\" Jakarta
\nHealth Agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili said during a hearing
\nwith City Council Commission E, which oversees people's welfare.<\/p>\n
Chalik said that the administration would erect health posts
\nacross the capital to hold the vaccination, with each post to
\ncover between three and four neighborhood units.<\/p>\n
\"We estimate that there are around 800,000 children below five
\nyears old that will be vaccinated at a cost of about Rp 10
\nbillion,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The administration will use its emergency fund to finance the
\nfree vaccination.<\/p>\n
Chalik emphasized that all children would be subject to the
\nvaccination, including those who had already been vaccinated
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
\"We just want to ensure that the city is really free of the
\nvirus. That's why we will pursue any children that fail to show
\nup at the posts in the vaccination drive,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Pediatricians say that ideally a baby must receive a polio
\nvaccination three times in the first year and once every year up
\nto five years to really develop immunity to the polio virus.<\/p>\n
Side effects of the polio vaccination, like diarrhea and
\nfever, are rarely found. An overdose in vaccination drops given
\nto children will do no harm to immunized children.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, the agency reported 17 cases of sudden
\nparalysis, but so far no single case of polio infection was
\nreported in the city.<\/p>\n
The agency is required to conduct surveillance of hospitals
\nand public health centers in the city to detect the incidence of
\ncontagious diseases. At least 23 patients with sudden paralysis,
\nor acute flaccid paralysis, have been spotted this year.<\/p>\n
There are 15 diseases that can cause paralysis, including
\npolio and meningitis.<\/p>\n
Last year, the agency found 50 patients with paralysis, but
\nnone of them were found to have contracted polio.<\/p>\n
Agency spokesperson Zelvyno said that the agency was preparing
\nfor health workers to take part in the massive drive against
\npolio.<\/p>\n
\"We are also coordinating with the administrations in Greater
\nJakarta, like Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and Bogor to hold a
\nsimilar vaccination drive,\" Zelvyno said.<\/p>\n
The West Java Health Agency reported 18 suspected polio cases
\nin Sukabumi.<\/p>\n
The virus, which usually infects children, is suspected to
\nhave been carried in by groups of haj pilgrims or Indonesian
\nmigrant workers coming back from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Many fear a polio epidemic in Indonesia after around 10 years
\nof being free of the disease.<\/p>\n
The government had set up integrated health service posts
\n(Posyandu) in almost every neighborhood unit in the country
\nduring the administration of president Soeharto in which children
\nreceive immunization against different diseases, including polio.<\/p>\n
However, the posts have been cut back drastically since the
\neconomic crisis in 1997, leaving many poor children with no
\naccess to vaccination.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-authorities-to-carry-out-massive-polio-vaccination-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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