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Vaccines

young children got vaccine

The body is armed with numerous ways to protect itself against pathogens (organisms that cause disease). The skin, mucous membranes, and cilia (fine hairs that remove particles from the lungs) act as physical barriers to prevent pathogens from entering the body. When pathogens infect the body, our immune defense system is triggered, and the pathogens are attacked and destroyed.

The immune defense system generally works effectively to protect us from disease. However, there are times when the body needs to be fortified in advance by receiving a vaccine; in the event  a dangerous pathogen infection occurs, the body is equipped with a defense system to fight against and ward off the disease.

This is where vaccines play an important role. They serve not only to protect the recipient, but also shield  others who cannot receive vaccines for exposure to dangerous diseases, including  polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and others.Vaksin dan Cara Kerjanya2  

Vaccines and How They Work

Vaccines are substances or compounds designed to train the body to produce antibodies or immune defenses, thereby preventing or reducing the risk of being infected by a disease caused by pathogens.

 

Therefore, vaccination is a practical, safe, and effective method to prevent specific diseases. Granted, there is the potential for mild side effects such as fever, pain, or temporary redness at the injection site for a few days. In the manufacturing process, however, vaccines undergo rigorous quality testing to ensure their safety and efficacy. Their use is also regularly monitored by scientists/researchers based on trusted sources of information to ensure their safety and effectiveness.

Vaccines will not make you sick or put you at risk of complications. This is due to the fact that vaccines only contain viruses or bacteria that have been inactivated or weakened.

Types of Vaccines

In general, vaccines can be classified into several types based on their contents:

  1. Live attenuated vaccines: Considered effective and able to provide lifelong immunity. Contain weakened forms of the pathogen.

  2. Inactivated vaccines: Contain killed or inactivated pathogens, but can still stimulate the body to recognize their antigens.

  3. Conjugate vaccines: Contain isolated proteins or carbohydrates from the pathogen. Their function is to teach the immune system to recognize and respond to the attacking pathogen.

  4. Toxoid vaccines: Use inactivated toxins to prepare the immune system to fight live pathogens.

Benefits of Vaccines

In addition to preventing specific diseases, here are some of the benefits derived from vaccination:

Saving lives

Vaccines help prevent the spread of dangerous diseases that attack or kill many people. Vaccination is known to have saved up to 37 million lives between 2000-2019 in low- and middle-income nations for the top 10 diseases. Experts estimate that vaccination could save more than 69 million lives in the combined period 2000-2030.

Forming herd immunity

With the widespread vaccination of a community, the spread of pathogens is hindered because most individuals they encounter are already immune. It follows that the more people are vaccinated, the lower the risk of transmission of harmful pathogens. Consequently, vaccination ensures most of the population in a specific place is immune to a contagious disease.

This is important to protect people around us, especially those who are not eligible to be vaccinated, to avoid the risk of disease.

Preventing cancer

Some types of vaccines, such as for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B, can prevent infections that are known carcinogens.

Immunization in Indonesia

If vaccination is the use of vaccines to stimulate the immune system, then immunization is the process of strengthening immunity that occurs after vaccine administration9.

Public immunization is one of the government programs aimed at protecting the Indonesian populace from various diseases. Generally, it is administered from newborns to adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a decline in the coverage of basic immunization in Indonesia, with approximately 1,714,471 children failing to receive complete basic immunization in 2019-202110. The government continues to strive to rectify this situation, including through development of a strategic health reform plan replete with a national immunization program with 14 types of vaccines11.

Recommended types of vaccines in Indonesia include:

​​​ID-GEN-2023-03-ASBD (03/23)

jenis vaksin yang direkomendasikan di Indonesia

Referensi

  1. Jumlah Penderita Diabetes Indonesia Terbesar Kelima di Dunia - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  2. Infodatin 2020 Diabetes Melitus - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  3. Diabetes - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  4. Everything You Need to Know About Diabetes - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  5. Early Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  6. Diabetes - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  7. Diabetes facts & figures - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  8. Tahun 2030 Prevalensi Diabetes Melitus di Indonesia Mencapai 21,3 Juta Orang - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  9. Diagnosis - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

  10. Diabetes - terakhir diakses pada 6 Maret 2023

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