Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
The coronavirus pandemic has hampered polio vaccination activities around the world and there are fears that the risk of children getting polio will increase.
It is estimated that more than 80 million children did not receive polio immunization during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Pandemic hasn’t been vaccinated for three months around the world. More than 80 million children have not received the vaccine, ”said Sanofi Pasteur Indonesia’s medical director, doctor Dhani Arifandi, at a conference on World Polio Day every October 24.
World Polio Day is a commemoration to raise public awareness of the importance of polio vaccination.
Polio is a contagious disease caused by polio virus infection.
This virus attacked the central nervous system of children thousands of years ago, causing paralysis. The paralysis lasts a lifetime and cannot be cured.
However, polio can be prevented by immunizing polio in children with the OPV and IPV vaccines.
WHO says polio cases are under control worldwide compared to three decades with 125 countries as endemic.
Currently, there are only two countries with polio outbreaks, namely Pakistan with 77 cases and Afghanistan with 52 cases. Indonesia has been declared polio free since 2014.
The success factor for polio eradication lies in vaccinating all children.
However, this situation can change if immunization is not continued.
“If the world stops eradicating polio today, 10 years from now, there will be 200,000 cases a year worldwide,” said Vinod Bura, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Over the next six months, Bura said countries must work together to eradicate polio through vaccinations and responsive treatment for the outbreak. WHO also recommends giving two doses of IPV vaccine to make the vaccine more effective.
(ptj / ard)
–
