Basic infant immunization coverage in four provinces reached 75%

JAKARTA (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health reported that four provinces achieved the target of 75% coverage of the complete basic immunization program for infants under 11 months of age as of September 2023.

The four provinces are Jakarta, Banten, South Sulawesi and Central Java.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin delivered the report on Tuesday during a working session of House Committee 9 monitored online.

“Basically, we have three routine immunizations, comprehensive basic immunization, monthly immunization for school children and immunization for women of childbearing age,” he said.

Among the four provinces, Jakarta has the highest coverage rate at 93.4%, followed by Banten at 85.6%; South Sulawesi at 82.2%; and Central Java at 76.5%.

Meanwhile, the provinces with the lowest complete basic immunization coverage are Pegunungan, Papua, at 8.9%; Central Papua, 23.6%; Aceh, 29.8%; Southwestern Papua, 31.3%; and West Papua, 32.4%.

A complete basic immunization plan includes hepatitis B vaccination, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) vaccination, injectable polio vaccination, measles-rubella vaccination, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine ( PCV) vaccination and rotavirus vaccination.

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In addition, it also includes Japanese encephalitis vaccine, tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, human papillomavirus vaccine, and diphtheria pertussis vaccine.

DPT-HB-Hib vaccination protects against six diseases: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia and meningitis.

Sadikin said the HPV, rotavirus and PCV vaccines are the latest vaccines added to the program.

The HPV vaccine is used to prevent papillomavirus infection, the leading cause of cervical cancer, while the rotavirus vaccine is used to prevent diarrhea in infants and children.

Also, PCV is given to prevent pneumococcal infections that cause pneumonia and meningitis.

Sadikin said the most in-demand vaccine in the program right now is the HPV vaccine because it is very expensive to provide it in the private sector.

I noticed that the immunization program budget comes from the national budget (APBN), regional budget allocations (APBD) and loans from international agencies.

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Translated by: Andy Firdaus, Laka Aji
Editor: Yuni Alisandi Sinaga
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