I implore the people to always fact-check news through the government’s official channels, such as the Health Ministry and BPOM, to know the truth of this news.
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The vaccination of breastfeeding mothers against COVID-19 does not cause acute kidney injury in children, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Reisa Broto Asmoro, stressed on Monday.
“It is not true. In other words, it is a hoax,” she said during an online health broadcast.
COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), which are suspected to be related to acute kidney injury cases, she added.
Further, acute kidney injury is suspected to be caused by the consumption of drugs sold by pharmacies in the form of syrups or other types of liquids, which are contaminated with EG and DEG.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe because they have been proven to be beneficial in building immunity and have been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the National Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), Asmoro explained.
Rather than worrying about an unverifiable hoax, all parties should expand booster coverage, she said.
As of November 6, 2022, Indonesia’s booster dose coverage has been recorded at 27.86 percent, which is still far fromthe target of 50 percent set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Further, COVID-19 vaccination has become more urgent given that the number of positive cases and deaths is showing an upward trend again.
The country’s resiliency can be maintained if there is no further spike in cases or high bed occupancy rate (BOR) because of all citizens developing a high level of antibodies and becoming capable of fighting off the virus.
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“We need cooperation from all parties, including our awareness to successfully achieve this target,” she remarked.
Asmoro then urged all parties to not spread hoaxes that cause people to feel anxious.
She also asked the public to follow the latest developments related to acute kidney injury cases among children so that all children can be protected and parents can gain valid knowledge.
“I implore the people to always fact-check news through the government’s official channels, such as the Health Ministry and BPOM, to know the truth of this news,” she said.
She also urged people to not ignore the danger of COVID-19 despite the fact that the new XBB sub-variant, which has been found in 28 countries, causes milder symptoms in patients.
Related news: Acute kidney injury cases see significant decline: Ministry