Ministry of Health Prioritises Measles Vaccine for Doctors and Health Workers

Following the authorisation for measles vaccine use in adults, the Ministry of Health (MoH) will prioritise high-risk groups, namely doctors and health workers. Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices at the MoH, Dr Lucia Rizki Andalusia, stated that they have developed a programme for planning and implementing the vaccination. The MoH has recorded 39,212 medical personnel and around 2,000 health workers in 14 provinces with the highest measles cases who will be the primary priority. This is supplemented by 28,321 general practitioners and dentists currently interning across Indonesia. “For general practitioners and dentists, intensive vaccination will be carried out in all provinces in Indonesia. Whereas for health workers, it will be in the 14 provinces with the highest measles cases,” said Rizka during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4). The MoH has vaccine logistics ready and has distributed them to all provincial health offices. Currently, the availability of MR vaccine for the government programme is around 9.8 million doses across all regions, or a stock level of about 5.5 months. “We are indeed ensuring that stocks in all regions remain maintained but not excessive, so as not to risk the vaccines expiring,” she said. It is known that the MoH has a vaccine monitoring mechanism called SMILE through the Satu Sehat logistics system, which tracks vaccine availability across provinces, districts, cities, and health centres in real time. “So currently, the vaccine availability condition is more than sufficient because around 9.8 million are available throughout Indonesia,” she explained. “We must coordinate with all health offices for its implementation. Especially for health workers. So it is not mandatory for adults, but for these high-risk groups, we will carry it out immediately,” she added. It is known that the measles vaccine is mandatory only for children, with three doses at 9 months, 18 months, and a booster in year 1 of primary school. However, with the outbreak (KLB), the MoH is also conducting Outbreak Response Immunisation (ORI) in areas with high cases or experiencing outbreaks. With this outbreak, there is potential transmission to high-risk individuals, in this case health workers, especially those working directly with patients. Groups with low immune systems or comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, people with HIV, including the elderly, are at risk of contracting measles. The West Java Health Office is striving to break the chain of transmission, increase immunisation coverage, and protect vulnerable groups, especially children, from the risk of measles complications. Measles cases peaked in the first week of January 2026 with 2,932 suspected cases and 2,220 confirmed cases. The Health Office is conducting simultaneous measles immunisation for children, targeting 165,000 toddlers aged 9 months, 18 months to year 1 of primary school equivalent. The Palu City Government has been implementing Outbreak Response Immunisation (ORI) since 1 April 2026. Lestari also highlighted the decline in herd immunity as one of the main factors increasing measles cases. In Tasikmalaya Regency, measles cases have spread in Linggawangi Village, Leuwisari Subdistrict, and Mekarjaya Village, Padakembang Subdistrict, leading to outbreak status.