By: Abdul Razak)*
South Sulawesi.id| The Covid-19 vaccination is an obligation that must be carried out by all people, aged over 6 years. By following the vaccine, including the booster, the public is expected to be able to avoid the transmission of the Corona virus, which is currently increasing.
Public enthusiasm is very high when there is a National Vaccination Program, especially when vaccines are made free by the government. They are looking for health centers and hospitals that provide vaccinations. When there is a mass vaccination held by the private sector, the queue is also quite long.
However, there is still an understanding that needs to be straightened out when people feel they are safe, even though they have only received 2 injections of the Covid-19 vaccine. To deal with the ferocity of Corona, a booster injection, aka a third dose, must be injected. The goal is to strengthen the body’s immunity during the pandemic.
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the public should carry out booster vaccinations. If it has been injected, the immune system is already strong, so the hospitalization and death rates are relatively low. In a sense, when there is an increase in Corona cases, it is not as bad as last year and most patients only show mild symptoms, so they don’t need to be hospitalized.
As of July 3, 2022, there are 1,045 Corona patients in Indonesia. This figure is higher than last month, which was only in the hundreds per day. If there is an increase like this, the only choice is a booster vaccination, so that the body’s immune system becomes stronger in fighting Corona.
When it has been injected twice, people still have to get a booster. The reason is because after 6 months of the second dose of Corona vaccine injection, the body’s immune system weakens again. Therefore, a booster vaccine is needed that can increase the immunity that has been built (after the previous 2 doses of vaccine).
Currently, the coverage of the second dose of vaccination is more than 70% throughout Indonesia. However, for the new booster vaccine, it is around 20%. Therefore, people continue to get vaccinated about the importance of boosters. They must get it in order to be safe from Corona, especially since this virus continues to mutate so it must be fought with vaccines.
A virologist from Columbia University, Doctor David Ho, stated that the booster vaccine was effective against the omicron variant of the Corona virus. Its effectiveness can reach more than 85%. In a sense, to protect themselves from the pandemic and the various variants and sub-variants of Corona, people must get a booster.
During the pandemic, Corona vaccination is very important and must be complete (up to 3 doses). There are only 2 choices, getting vaccinated or contracting Corona which causes many negative effects. People certainly choose the former because contracting Corona is not a figment. In this case, health is number 1, therefore vaccines should not be missed.
Therefore, the provision of booster vaccines must be intensified again so that the immune system of all Indonesian people is much stronger in fighting Corona. Improve your immune system with a booster because the first and second vaccine injections have not yet formed 100% immunity. Don’t just vaccinate twice, even just once, because vaccines are a way to get out of a pandemic.
There are no side effects from the booster vaccine so people don’t have to be afraid to get it. Just like other injections, the side effects after the booster vaccine injection are just a little sore. There are also people who have a fever after the injection and this is very normal because it is the body’s reaction to the vaccine. Therefore, health workers usually give fever-reducing drugs, as an anticipation.
Meanwhile, Doctor Rizal Fadli stated that there are many benefits of booster vaccines. In addition to strengthening the immune system, the third dose of vaccine injection can strengthen the antibodies that have been built up (after the first and second dose injections). Booster vaccines can also prevent infection with the Covid-19 virus and extend the period of protection from the virus.
In a sense, the legal booster vaccine is mandatory so that the body’s immune system is maintained from the dangers of Corona. If the entire community (aged 18 years and over) has been boosted, it will break the chain of spreading the Covid-19 virus. As a result, the pandemic period will end quickly. People certainly want to live a normal life and not be haunted by Corona, so they must get a booster vaccine as soon as possible.
The booster vaccine is mandatory, just like the first and second doses of the Corona vaccine. Check the booster vaccine schedule in the Peduli Protect application and immediately go to the hospital to get it. There are no serious side effects after the booster vaccine and the injection is still free by the government, so there are no exceptions to getting it.
The booster vaccine is mandatory, just like the first and second doses of the Corona vaccine. Check the booster vaccine schedule in the Peduli Protect application and immediately go to the hospital to get it. There are no serious side effects after the booster vaccine and the injection is still free by the government, so there are no exceptions to getting it.
Booster vaccination is an effort to avoid Corona transmission. Therefore, the public is obliged to get it and not just be satisfied with 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine so that Covid-19 cases can be suppressed and the economic recovery can continue.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute