Research showed that antibody titers for vaccinated people dropped in more than six monthsJakarta (ANTARA) - People who missed out on their second COVID-19 vaccination for over six months had to re-do their vaccination starting from the first dose, Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) Chairwoman Professor Sri Rezeki stated.
The rule aimed to re-optimize their antibody titers in an effort to provide protection against COVID-19 transmission.
"Research showed that antibody titers for vaccinated people dropped in more than six months," Rezeki told ANTARA on Tuesday.
People who had not received the second dose of COVID-19 for over six months were included in the drop-out group. The ITAGI reported that 15 million people fell in this group, with some of them not having accessed complete vaccination in over nine months.
Rezeki noted that people in the drop-out group generally received the Sinovac vaccine as their first dose, which the government has currently reallocated for the COVID-19 vaccination program for children.
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"Now Sinovac vaccine is not available. It is only for children since the stocks are running low, and we cannot import it anymore," she added.
Drawing attention to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Rezeki noted that vaccine recipients were required to receive the same vaccine brand for the first and the second dose.
Due to the declining supply of the Sinovac vaccine and the provision to receive the same vaccine brand for two doses of vaccination, the ITAGI had submitted several recommendations to the Ministry of Health.
First, people who have not received the second dose in less than six months will be given different vaccine brands as the second dose according to availability in each region.
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Second, people in the drop-out group must repeat their vaccination and can use vaccine brands different from the original vaccine.
Third, considering that Sinovac vaccines are currently distributed in limited quantities and are targeted at children aged 6-11 years, those who are in the drop-out group can use vaccines with different brands available to complete the second dose by prioritizing vaccines with the closest expiry date.
This provision is contained in Circular Letter of the Ministry of Health Number SR.02.06/11/921/2022 on the Provision of COVID-19 Vaccination for "Drop Out" Targets that was released as of February 13, 2022.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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