Banda Aceh, The Indonesia Post – The Aceh COVID-19 Handling Task Force (Satgas) said the government had started injecting the Pfizer brand of corona virus vaccine for the community in an effort to prevent the transmission of the deadly virus in the local province.
Aceh COVID-19 Spokesperson Saifullah Abdulgani, Thursday, said the choice of vaccines to prevent the corona virus is increasingly diverse in the Tanah Rencong area. In addition to their previously used Sinovac and Moderna vaccines, Pfizer vaccines are now starting to enliven the vaccination center.
“The Aceh Government’s mass vaccination coordinator reported that the Pfizer vaccine has begun to be offered to people who participated in the mass vaccination at the Banda Aceh Convention Hall today,” said Saifullah in Banda Aceh.
He explained that the vaccine, which has the Comirnaty trademark, is the result of a collaboration between a German biotechnology company, BioNTech, and a US pharmaceutical company, Pfizer. The two agreed to produce a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine without components of the corona virus or SARS-CoV-2, such as the Moderna vaccine.
According to him, the mRNA vaccine works by sending a message to the cell system to form a unique protein for the corona virus, thereby triggering an immune response in the body against COVID-19.
“The results of the third phase of clinical trials prove that the Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy of up to 95 percent,” he said, explaining.
The Pfizer vaccine is given in two doses 21 days after receiving the first dose. Apart from children under 12 years old, all age groups can receive the Pfizer vaccine for immunity from the corona virus, provided they have not received the Sinovac or Moderna vaccines.
Patients with comorbidities such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, and controlled infectious diseases can be given the Pfizer vaccine according to the medical control card. Likewise, comorbid patients are at high risk if they are infected with the corona virus.
“Vaccination for comorbid patients and has a high risk of course through strict screening,” said Saifullah.
Furthermore, he added, the Pfizer vaccine can also be given to pregnant and lactating women. Pregnant women can opt for the Pfizer vaccine if their pregnancy has entered the second trimester. Meanwhile, COVID-19 survivors who wish to be vaccinated with Pfizer must wait three months after being declared cured of COVID-19.
So far, he said, there have been no post-immunization follow-up events (KIPI) that are considered fatal due to the Pfizer vaccine. The effects are felt such as headache, joint pain, muscle aches, pain or swelling at the injection site, fatigue, fever, and others.
“Similar AEFIs were also found in other types of vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is proven to be safe and effective in building immunity from the threat of the corona virus. His presence should make the COVID-19 vaccination more lively in Aceh,” he said.
In addition, he said COVID-19 cases in Aceh had reached 38,241 people as of Wednesday (20/10). Among them, 256 patients are currently being treated, 35,951 have recovered, and 2,034 have died.
Therefore, the Aceh COVID-19 Task Force asks the public to continue to be disciplined in implementing health protocols such as wearing masks, maintaining distance, washing hands, avoiding crowds, and reducing mobility. This is considered important because the transmission continues to occur in the community. (jek/bbs)
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