Vials of the JYNNEOS smallpox and mpox vaccine are placed on a table during a clinic offered by the Pima County Department of Public Health at Abrams Public Health Center in Tucson, Arizona, the United States, on Aug. 20, 2022. - Photo: Reuters file
JAKARTA: The government has ordered thousands of doses of mpox vaccines from Denmark in an effort to prevent the illness’ spread, amid escalating global concern over the viral infection.
A shipment of 1,600 vaccine doses, the second from the Scandinavian country, is expected to arrive next week, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Tuesday (Aug 27).
Authorities placed the second order as the stock of the first batch of 1,000 doses dwindled, having been distributed to high-risk groups.
The minister said the government would procure additional mpox vaccines from other countries that manufactured them, such as Japan.
“We’ve received an order from [President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo] to get closer with the Japanese government for more vaccines,” Budi said, as quoted by kompas.com.
The Health Ministry previously said it would prepare 4,450 vaccine doses for 2,250 people, with each recipient getting two doses, a target higher than last year’s mpox vaccination figure of 495 people.
Formerly known as monkeypox, the viral zoonotic disease is spread through close physical and sexual contact as well as contaminated objects.
Symptoms include muscle aches, fever and large skin lesions.
Mpox outbreaks have been reported since July in several African countries.
The disease’s newest variant, identified as clade Ib, has been blamed for the recent outbreaks as it is more transmissible and deadlier than the other strains.
The new variant was also identified in several countries outside Africa, prompting the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a global health emergency for the viral disease in mid-August.
Countries are scrambling to secure enough mpox vaccine doses to protect their populations.
But they are difficult to come by for many high-risk people, with limited supplies and a price tag of around Rp 3.5 million (US$227) per dose.
Indonesia recorded its first mpox case in 2022, with the patient contracting the less virulent clade II variant.
Since then, 88 cases have been detected, with most of the patients having recovered, according to the Health Ministry.
With few vaccine doses available worldwide, the ministry said only select groups of people would be eligible to receive the shot.
The targeted recipients included men who had sex with men, medical workers and people who had been in recent contact with a presumed or confirmed mpox patient.
For now, the vaccination will not be available to the wider public.
“The mpox vaccine is currently in limited stock and will be prioritised in regions reporting cases,” the ministry’s immunisation management director Prima Yosephine said in a statement on Wednesday.
She added that health authorities would also intensify vaccinations in Bali, where the government will host the second Indonesia-Africa Forum in Nusa Dua.
The forum, slated for Sept 1 to 3, will include discussions among government representatives, business entities and international organisations on potential economic cooperation between Indonesia and African countries.
Some 1,500 participants from 51 countries, including 22 African nations, are expected to take part in the event.
Minister Budi said that as a preventive measure, the government had reactivated the electronic surveillance card, previously known as the online application PeduliLindungi, for international arrivals.
International passengers from other countries will be required to scan a barcode upon entry to help authorities keep track of their travel history.
The minister added that besides the barcode scanning, there would not be any restrictions on people arriving from other countries.
“The WHO urged no discrimination for people crossing the borders,” Budi said.
Jokowi had ordered the Health Ministry to increase health surveillance at the country’s entry points.
“We can execute preventive measures from the time of the Covid-19 era.
Therefore, I ask the related institutions to educate the public on health protocols on a large scale,” the President said during a cabinet meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The Health Ministry previously warned travelers going between Indonesia and Africa to observe proper hygiene practices and to engage only in safe sexual behaviour.
It also urged people with plans to travel to Africa to postpone their trips if possible, given the rising cases. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
