Head of the Ambon City Health Office, Dr. Wendy Pelupessy, stated here on Thursday that the provision of vaccines for pregnant women refers to the Circular Letter of the Ministry of Health Number HK.02.01/I/2007/2021.
"Today, we are targeting 200 pregnant women to be vaccinated from the targeted 1,980 pregnant women," she remarked.
Pelupessy noted that the screening process or vaccination screening for pregnant women is more detailed than vaccination for other groups.
"The first dose will be administered in the second trimester of pregnancy or 13 weeks of gestation, while the second dose will be given according to the interval of the type of vaccine," she explained.
Related news: Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers urged to get vaccinated
According to Pelupessy, pregnant and breastfeeding women were at risk of being exposed to the coronavirus and could potentially experience severe symptoms, for which their vaccination is also necessary.
Vaccines used in the programs are those from Pfizer and Moderna brands as well as the inactivated vaccine platform from Sinovac. Pelupessy remarked that her side had readied as many as four thousand doses of the Sinovac vaccine for pregnant women.
"This vaccination is important to reduce the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), and the central government has also recommended vaccination for pregnant women. Hence, there is no reason to worry about taking the vaccine," she emphasized.
Pelupessy noted that for conducting vaccination for pregnant women in the city, her side had collaborated with the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI), Indonesian Obstetrics and Gynecology Association (POGI), and Maluku Province's National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN).
Related news: Jakarta administers first vaccine dose to 1,754 pregnant women
Translator: Penina Fiolana, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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