26th August 2022 –Health Minister (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the monkeypox vaccine will be distributed starting at the end of 2022. The distribution of the vaccine will be limited.
He explained that the monkeypox vaccine will be distributed to immunocompromised citizens, which are citizens who are more prone to infection. Also, the majority of the citizens in 1980 has been vaccinated.
Previously, Syahril, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, emphasized that the monkeypox vaccine imported to Indonesia is not a type of smallpox vaccine.
Monkeypox is a disease that can infect from one animal to another, also from animal to human (zoonosis). In an effort to combat the spread of monkeypox in Indonesia, which already infected one person, the government will provide 1,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine.
Since the discovery of the first case of monkeypox in Indonesia, the Ministry of Health has yet to provide a list of the monkeypox vaccine product names to be imported. This is because similar to other vaccinations, providing monkeypox vaccine should be done through Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM)’s recommendation.
Currently, monkeypox vaccines are being clinically tested by BPOM along with the National Immunization Expert Advisory Committee or the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI).
In light of a monkeypox case in Indonesia, Soekarno-Hatta Airport has tightened its security on international arrivals.
The Airport’s Port Health Office (KKP) has briefed all officers about the monkeypox symptoms. Unlike the Covid-19 security, for monkeypox, officers are going to check for any visible red spots or rashes. If someone was found with red spots or rashes that lean to monkeypox, they will be taken to a temporary isolation unit. In there, they will have to fill out some forms before being treated at the hospital.
According to the head of KKP Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Darmawali Handoko, there are no visitors with monkeypox symptoms found so far.
