Head of the National Commission (Komnas) for KIPI (adverse events following immunization or AEFI) Professor Hindra Irawan Satari made the statement at a media meeting agenda on the 2023 World Immunization Week in Jakarta on Monday.
"We conducted a study in Lombok to see between the group that was only given one injection of PCV vaccine and the PCV + Pentabio (DPT-HB-Hib) vaccine group. There was no increase in side effects for the double vaccine," he informed.
The vaccine needs to be given to people who are healthy so that the stimulated immunity can form antibodies optimally, Satari said.
"The immune system will be optimal when the person receiving it is healthy. A healthy person can neutralize the incoming virus. Therefore, the immunization will be optimal for a healthy person," he explained.
He said that vaccine adverse events are divided into two types. The first is the serious KIPI, which is marked by a medical incident after immunization that leads to hospitalization, disability, or death. The second is non-serious KIPI, which is characterized by medical incidents after immunization that do not pose a potential risk to the health of recipients.
In the period from 2016 to 2022, the number of KIPIs involving multiple immunizations in Indonesia was dominated by the non-serious category, with the figure almost reaching 36 thousand cases, Satari informed.
Meanwhile, there were 9 serious KIPI cases in Indonesia in 2016, of which, 3 were caused by vaccine reactions and 6 were coincidental. In 2018, there was 1 case due to a vaccine reaction, and in 2019, 7 cases were attributed to coincidence and indeterminate reasons, he added.
According to him, multiple immunizations involve administering two or more vaccines of different packages at the same time.
"The injection location can be a different place or at the same place given a distance of about 2 centimeters," he explained.
He informed that the benefits of multiple immunizations include providing optimal protection to children, reducing the number of visits to health facilities, and increasing the efficiency of the immunization program.
"This immunization must be given as quickly as possible to protect children. It also helps to reduce visits to health facilities," he said.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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