While delivering a statement to the press at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday, he informed that his ministry previously brought one thousand doses of mpox vaccine to Indonesia, and currently, the remaining stock is 40 doses, which will be sent to Bali.
"We send to Bali for high-risk people, such as laboratory workers, health workers, and high-risk groups; we will vaccinate them," he said.
Currently, the Indonesian government is awaiting mpox vaccines from Denmark. They are expected to arrive soon.
He informed that the government is also seeking to procure additional mpox vaccines from Japan.
"The ones from Japan are not yet exported. Later, with direction from the President, we will try to approach the Japanese government, whether we can procure mpox vaccines from Japan or not," he said.
In terms of treatment facilities, he assured that all hospitals in Bali and Jakarta have been prepared with the necessary medicines.
The minister underscored that all mpox patients can recover with the right treatment.
"Based on our experience, those who are infected are 100 percent recovered," he said.
He explained that the 88 cases of mpox detected in Indonesia are of the 2B variant, whose fatality rate is far lower than the 1B variant, which spread in Africa.
"For 1B, the fatality rate is high, almost 10 percent. Ours is still 0.1 percent," he added.
He further said that mpox transmission occurs through physical contact and is seen in certain groups, thus the spread is not as rapid as COVID-19.
He assured that mpox vaccines are available in Indonesia and the government is currently procuring more vaccine doses, which cost Rp3.5 million (USD1 = around Rp15,549) per dose.
Sadikin affirmed that the vaccines will be prioritized for high-risk groups and regions with mpox outbreaks. So far in Indonesia, mpox cases have been detected in Java and Riau Islands.
He appealed to the community to remain alert and not get overly worried.
Related news: Indonesia secures 1,600 additional Mpox vaccine doses this week
Related news: Ministry records full recovery in all Mpox cases in Indonesia
Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
