74% of Omicron Cases in Indonesia were Double Jabbed

TheIndonesia.id - Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that 74 percent of the total 68 cases of Omicron in Indonesia were experienced by patients who had received a complete dose of vaccine with asymptomatic and mild conditions.

"This means that the Omicron variant has a high transmission rate but with a low risk of serious illness. Even so, the public must remain vigilant because the situation can change quickly," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi in a written statement confirmed via text message received by Antara in Jakarta, Friday, December 31, 2021.

Nadia said that within two weeks, on December 26, 2021, 46 cases of Omicron were detected in Indonesia. Fifteen of them (32.6%) were travelers from Turkey. The rest are originating from travelers from the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Malaysia, Malawi, the Republic of the Congo, Spain, the United States of America, Kenya, Korea, Egypt, and Nigeria.

She said 74 percent of Omicron cases have been fully vaccinated, 80 percent are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and 96 percent of cases are Indonesian citizens.

Until December 29, 2021, Nadia said, there were 21 additional confirmed cases of Omicron in Indonesia, which were foreign travelers, bringing the total number of Omicron cases to 68 people.

Based on a report from WHO HQ "Enhancing readiness for Omicron (B.1.1.529): Technical Brief and Priority Actions for Member States", December 23, 2021, the Omicron variant has characteristics of faster transmission than the Delta variant in countries that have experienced community transmission. In the UK, the severity of the Omicron variant led to 29 deaths.

Omicron's estimated risk of admission to emergency care is 15-25 percent lower than that of Delta. The estimated risk of hospitalization or hospitalization of one or more days due to Omicron is 40-45 percent lower.

Omicron mutations reduce the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies including Ronapreve or the combination of Casirivimab and Imdevimab. Preliminary data show Sotrovimab can still inhibit Omicron compared to other monoclonal antibodies.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health encourages prevention and control efforts as well as other mitigation efforts that must continue to run optimally to anticipate the potential for further waves in 2022. The Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases of the Directorate General of P2P of the Ministry of Health reminded the public to postpone overseas travel for Indonesian citizens because of the high risk of transmission.

"If you are abroad, continue to follow the health protocols," she said.

Nadia also reminded us that the Omicron case had local transmission in Indonesia. The public is asked to be vigilant and remain disciplined in health protocols.

"It should be noted that we have also identified cases of local transmission, meaning that the risk of transmission in the community already exists," she said.