"In my opinion, the need for vaccines is urgent because the transmission of FMD is very fast. Therefore, we hope that vaccine supply (distribution) from the central government would be accelerated while waiting for locally-made vaccines from the Veterinary Farma Center," she noted in a statement here on Friday.
After as many as one thousand doses of the FMD vaccine from the Ministry of Agriculture for East Java arrived on Friday (June 17), the governor directly supervised and monitored the FMD vaccine injections to livestock ahead of Eid al-Adha.
Parawansa, accompanied by District Head of Sidoarjo, Ahmad Muhdlor Ali, visited a cattle breeding center in Taman Sidoarjo Sub-district, where 30 dairy cows were administered the vaccine.
Related news: Agriculture Ministry commences production of FMD vaccine
From a total of three million FMD vaccine doses that the Ministry of Agriculture plans to import, East Java has been allotted a quota of 1.5 million doses. Of the total allocation, the province has, so far, only received one thousand doses.
Of the one thousand doses, some 200 doses have been distributed to Sidoarjo District, while 800 doses have been distributed to Pasuruan District. She explained that each animal will be administered three vaccine injections under the vaccination program.
The governor noted that the vaccine stock is prioritized for dairy cows due to its limited availability. To this end, she expressed hope that development of the locally-made vaccine by the Veterinary Farma Center would be completed in late July or early August.
The governor assessed that the handling of FMD is similar to the handling of COVID-19. Its ability to spread through air makes transmission of the FMD virus to farm animals faster.
According to Parawansa, protection and isolation are the best ways to prevent transmission. Protection should not only be centered in affected areas but also in areas where livestock are still healthy, she emphasized.
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Related news: Agriculture Ministry to soon distribute 800 thousand FMD vaccine doses
Translator: Putu Indah, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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