Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - The city government of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, has confirmed to implement dengue vaccination program for thousands of children as an effort to combat dengue hemorrhagic fever (locally known as DBD) in 2025.
The Mayor H Muhammad Yamin HR here on Tuesday said that his government has held across-sectoral coordination meeting to prepare the implementation of the program.
He appreciated the Department of Pediatrics University of Lambung Mangkurat's (ULM's) Faculty of Medicine and Health Science together with Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, which has collaborated with the sponsor PT Takeda Indonesia in providing a dengue vaccine grant for the Banjarmasin City.
He underlined the importance of collaboration in dealing with pubic health problems, especially dengue (DHF), which is often a serious threat in cities with geographical condition such as Banjarmasin.
"I welcome and highly appreciate all parties for their intiative and commitment to organize this program. This is a strategic step to handle DHF problems in a more structured and preventive ways," he said.
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In addition to its dense population, Banjarmasin also has challanges such as swampy areas and cleanliness issues that contribute to the high number of dengue fever cases.
To that end, the Mayor appealed to the community to care more about cleanliness of their environment and maintaining health.
Meanwhile, Head of the City Health Office Tabiun Huda said that 5,000 children are the target to receive dengue vaccine this year.
"The plan is for dengue vaccine to be given in August 2025, or to coincide with National Immunization Week (PIN)," he said.
His office will prepare 10,000 doses of vaccine. Each child will receive two vaccines with a span of three months.
"Just like COVID-19 vaccine, it can alleviate symptoms. The aim of this vaccination is not only to avoid infection, but even if infected it does not lead to serious condition or death," explained Tabiun.
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