FREE REVACCINATIONS FOR CHILDREN WHO RECEIVED SPURIOUS VACCINES by Fardah

Jakarta, July 23 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has paid serious attention to the case of spurious vaccines given to several infants, and has called for severe punishment to those who produced, marketed, and distributed the fake vaccines.

        Jokowi has also ordered a thorough investigation into the crime and free revaccinations to be given to the victims.

        The president recently visited the Ciracas community health center (Puskesmas) to personally oversee the administration of free revaccinations to the infants.

        "This morning, we offered revaccinations to the victims of fake vaccines, whose data has been collected and traced by the Police's Criminal Investigation Department, community health center, and the health ministry," President Jokowi stated at the community health center in eastern Jakarta, on July 18.

        A total of 167 infants in Ciracas and the surrounding areas had received fake vaccines, and so far, only 36 have been revaccinated.

        Revaccinations will be conducted in stages until all the victims are covered.

        "So, indeed, it is being carried out in stages. Today and tomorrow (more infants) will be invited, and later again, until (all infants) in the data are covered," the head of state emphasized.

        Jokowi visited the health center to ensure that the public received accurate information from the health center, health ministry, and the Jakarta health office.

        The head of state has called on the public to stay calm as the investigation into the cases of fake vaccines would take time and should be carried out carefully.

        "This is an extraordinary crime. If our children are not vaccinated, it will have long-term ill effects on our human resources," the president noted, and added that the practice had been rampant for 12 years, and therefore, it must be thoroughly investigated.

        The government has identified and announced 14 hospitals, eight clinics, and several midwives that had used fake vaccines. On July 15, the health ministry had summoned the management of all 14 hospitals.

        Furthermore, the health ministry has released a procedure on handling the problem.

        The procedure included the verification of children believed to have received the spurious vaccines, Oscar Primadi, the ministry's spokesman, noted in Jakarta on July 22.

        Based on the verification, personnel of the fake vaccine handling task force and local health offices will invite the parents to bring their children for a medical checkup and revaccination.

        Parents seeking further information or wanting to lodge complaints on immunization can visit the command posts.

        The command posts have been set up in every community health center (Puskesmas) in Jakarta, 44 Puskesmas in Bekasi, and Ciledug Puskesmas in Tangerang.

        The command posts will also assist in the verification process and will hand over the children's data to the task force.

        Parents, whose children received the fake vaccines, could also contact the "Hello Health Ministry" crisis center at 1500567.

        The parents will be advised to bring their children for revaccination to certain hospitals or Puskesmas at a certain time.

        The revaccination activities will be carried out by paramedics appointed by the health ministry or local health offices. The vaccines will be provided by the government.

        The government has set up a fake vaccine control task force comprising representatives of the health ministry, Drug and Food Supervisory Board (BPOM), and the Police's Crime Investigation Department (Bareskrim).

        In the meantime, the House of Representatives' Commission IX has set up a working committee to address the issue of spurious drugs and vaccines and to uncover how they have remained in circulation for some 13 years.

        "The working committee will operate for three months and will invite experts from relevant institutions to unravel various aspects of the fake vaccine problem," Chairman of the House's Commission IX Dede Yusuf stated at a discussion "Dialectic of Democracy: Fake Vaccines" held at the parliament building here Thursday.

        The experts will be from the health ministry, BPOM, Bareskrim of the National Police, hospitals, and leadership of the medical association, Yusuf added.

        In March 2016, the government has succeeded in conducting the national immunization week simultaneously across the nation. The coverage has been around 95.6 percent, according to Minister of Health Nila F. Moeloek, when launching the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) for primary immunization of infants in Gianyar, Bali, on July 22.

        Immunization is a health program that effectively supports national development, the minister said.

     
 "The immunization program should cover the entire nation," the minister said, and added that globally, immunization can reduce infant mortality rate by up to three million per year due to diseases.

        The World Health Organization (WHO) in April 2014 certified Indonesia free of polio.

        Twenty years ago, polio paralyzed nearly 1,000 children every day throughout the world.

        In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Movement emerged. By 2004, only 1,266 cases of polio were reported worldwide.

        Polio is a virus spread through fecal matter that affects the central nervous system and can leave victims with withered limbs, and can cause paralysis or even death.

        There is no cure, but it can be prevented through mass vaccination programs, which target children under five. ***4***
(f001/INE)
Edited by INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 23-07-2016 16:08:17