The Covid-19 vaccine has not caused the currently developing cases of acute hepatitis. Therefore, the public is asked to be aware of hoaxes, because the current Covid-19 vaccine in Indonesia is safe and lawful to use.
Recently there was a case that was quite horrendous, namely the emergence of acute hepatitis, especially infecting children. So far it is still not known with certainty about the cause and origin of the occurrence of acute hepatitis. But one thing is clear, that Prof. dr. Hanifah Oswari as Lead Scientist stated that there was absolutely no link between cases of Acute Hepatitis and the Covid-19 vaccination.
He made this statement because it turned out that some of the people connected it as if giving the Covid-19 vaccination was the cause of Acute Hepatitis. Hanifah emphasized that absolutely no concrete evidence was found that matched the allegations.
The beginning of the spread of the hoax news occurred on social media, where there were claims that the COVID-19 vaccination was the cause of the trigger for Acute Hepatitis that infects hundreds of children in the world. More precisely, the claim states that the content of adenovirus vectors in several vaccines, including the Johnson & Johnson brand, is the cause of the problem.
Suddenly the medical experts immediately denied the hoax news and stated that the adenovirus contained in the vaccine was very different from what was found in the case of Acute Hepatitis. Then added by Dr. Pail Offit as Director of the Center for Vaccine Education at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that there are differences in the adenovirus contained in Hepatitis with that which is injected in the vaccine.
In the case of acute hepatitis, it turned out to contain adenovirus type 41, while the adenovirus contained in the Covid-19 vaccine such as the J&J brand was type 26. In addition, he added that the adenovirus contained in the vaccine was completely unable to reproduce and spread. in the human body, its nature is very different from that found in hepatitis.
The next fact revealed by dr. Mark Slifka, Professor of microbiology and immunology at Oregon Health & Science University, pointed out that in fact there were several cases of acute hepatitis infecting children even though he had not received any previous Covid-19 vaccinations. Therefore, there is absolutely no evidence to support the hoax news claim.
Things that can be pursued together is to continue to increase awareness, prevention and control of acute hepatitis infections. The government itself has made several efforts, including immediately issuing Circular Letter Number HK.02.02/C/2515/2022 concerning vigilance against the discovery of cases of acute hepatitis with unknown etiology.
At this time, the exact etiology is still unknown, so further examination is still needed. For this reason, the Ministry of Health has also established several places, such as the Prof Dr. Infectious Disease Hospital. Sulianti Saroso and the UI Faculty of Medicine Laboratory as a place for further specimen examination. In addition, infection prevention and control are also continuously deployed from the provision of health workers and also health service facilities for the community.
The public is expected to be wise and not easily believe the information circulating on social media. In addition, the public is also expected to cross-check the information by referring to the mainstream media. With this awareness, various hoaxes about Covid-19 vaccination can be eradicated.
Prita Mulyasari, Author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
