It should be noted that this conclusion is still temporary and requires further studyJakarta (ANTARA) - Health experts have agreed that existing COVID-19 vaccines are still effective in bolstering the body’s protection against new variants, spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, has said.
According to a study conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the chances of infection from new COVID-19 variants, such as the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, are lower for people who have been vaccinated.
However, according to the initial study in Europe, the new variants have a faster infection rate, he noted during a virtual press conference on the development of national COVID-19 case handling, which was streamed on YouTube on Tuesday.
In addition, the variants can also evade the immunity developed against previous variants.
"It should be noted that this conclusion is still temporary and requires further study," he said.
"Despite this, no indications were found that these variants cause more severe symptoms," he added.
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According to data from the Health Ministry, as of Tuesday noon, Indonesia had recorded 20 Omicron subvariants: two cases of BA.4 and 18 cases of BA.5.
Most of the BA.5 cases were reported from West Java, with 12 infections reported from the province. Meanwhile, three cases each were reported from Jakarta and Bali.
"We certainly expect that there will not be any significant rise in cases despite the findings of new variants," Adisasmito said.
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In principle, all patients will undergo isolation until they are declared negative or recovered, he added.
In addition, the government is continuing to bolster case tracking through genome sequencing as well as a variant spread epidemiology study.
The government is also trying to anticipate a potential case surge by ensuring the effectiveness of testing tools, specifically at the country's entry points.
"This is expected to be able to better detect and handle new variant cases," Adisasmito said.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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