Moerdijat, in a written statement received on Tuesday, said that increasing immunization coverage to attain community immunity must be promptly realized because it is part of the state's efforts to protect the nation's children.
She explained that, based on the records of the Health Ministry, the coverage of complete routine immunization nationally had increased again after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, around 94.9 percent of Indonesian children were immunized.
Meanwhile, around five percent or 240 thousand Indonesian children did not receive additional protection from complete basic immunization, putting them at high risk of contracting diseases that can be prevented by immunization (PD3I).
"The number of children who have the potential to fall sick due to not receiving complete immunization is quite large. Moreover, without complete immunization, the risk can be death at a young age," she pointed out.
She said the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI) has recommended that the provision of the dengue vaccine be started at the age of six, as well as the provision of the HPV 9 valent vaccine for preventing cervical cancer in girls starting from the age of nine.
The MPR deputy speaker further said that various efforts made to achieve the immunization targets are aimed at building community immunity as soon as possible.
In addition, it is also aimed at controlling several outbreaks, such as polio, diphtheria, and measles.
She said that with 100-percent basic immunization coverage, it is expected that every child's immunity against the threat of disease will increase so that the development of Indonesia's human resources that can compete in the future can be achieved.
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Translator: Fath Putra, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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