Tempo News: 3 Diphtheria Vaccines and Importance of Immunization

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dr. M. Saptadi from the Puri Permata Clinic said that Diphtheria is a contagion that can attack almost anyone whether they are children or adults, male or female are not immune against this bacterial infection.

Furthermore, health observer Dr. Jusuf Kristianto Ph.D. said that other factors such as bad sanitation, malnutrition, and incomplete immunization affect the spread of diphtheria, which the Indonesian Health Ministry declared an extraordinary event.

“Sanitation, malnutrition, and incomplete immunization can be one of the causes diphtheria emerged again in Indonesia,” said Jusuf.

A complete immunization refers to vaccines that are given to toddlers as basic immunizations, and boosters that are given to primary school students.

Here are 3 types of vaccines used for diphtheria immunizations that are specific to the age of children it should be given to:

1. DPT-HB-Hib Vaccine

This vaccine should be given as basic immunization for babies under the age of one through three doses throughout a one-month period. It should then be followed by a single dosage of booster or advanced immunization to 18-month-old children.

2. DT Vaccine

This vaccine that is also included as the booster immunization, are given to first-grade students through a single dose.

3. Td Vaccine

A single dose of this vaccine is given to second-grade students and fifth-grade students ad part of the booster from the initial immunization.

The success rate of diphtheria prevention heavily relies on the amount of immunization a child receives, which is 95 percent of the total immunization.

TEMPO.CO