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Aceh polio jab campaign targets 1.2 million children
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A medical worker gives a toddler a polio vaccine dose at an integrated health post (Posyandu) in Kuta Alam, Banda Aceh, on Feb. 2, 2021. (Antara/Ampelsa)
H
ealth Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin launched a month-long immunization campaign on Monday that aims to eradicate polio in Aceh through the vaccination of more than 1 million children, amid slipping child inoculation rates nationwide.
The campaign was launched following the discovery of 4 polio cases, one of which was paralytic, in Aceh in early November. It was the first time in four years that Indonesia had reported instances of the disease.
“I have asked the governor [of Aceh] to wrap up [the immunization program] before the end of the month, so that all children [in Aceh] can get their [polio vaccinations]. We do not want any more children in Aceh to be exposed to polio," Budi said at Monday's launch event in the province.
The minister said Aceh had among the lowest provincial child vaccination rates in the country. The Health Ministry, with aid from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), aims to vaccinate 95 percent of children younger than 12 years old in Aceh, or some 1.2 million children, in December.
The vaccination regimen includes four doses of oral polio vaccination (OPV) and one dose of injected polio vaccination (IPV), although all provinces will be required to administer two IPV doses starting next year.
“My message to all parents is to make sure that your children are fully vaccinated against polio […]. Why are there so many [required doses]? Because there are many virus types [...]. If [the vaccination series] is incomplete, [children] will still be at risk of contracting the virus,” he said.
Prior to the launch of the province-wide vaccination drive, local health authorities had focused their efforts on a regency-wide immunization program in Pidie, where the polio cases were discovered. That program was launched on Nov. 28.
