This event was moderated by Roslina Sawitri, M.Pd., and held via the Zoom platform on Saturday (28/8/2021). The event was opened by the Institute Secretary of ITB, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ir. Widjaja Martokusumo and the introduction of the Amari application by Ir. Driejana. Then followed by dr. Insi’s presentation about vaccines as one of the efforts to prevent COVID-19.

She explained that currently, positive cases of Covid in Indonesia are decreasing but the mortality rate is still high. The majority of those who died from Covid were patients with comorbidities. "However, don't worry, patients with comorbid diseases such as hypertension can also recover," continued the doctor who graduated from Unpad Medical Faculty.

Several strategies are still implemented to resolve the pandemic. The government has carried out a synergistically vaccination program because the execution is quite pleasant and not burdening the public. According to her, it is unfortunate when people refuse to get vaccinated even though it’s given for free.

She then presents the correlation of vaccines with immunity. Vaccination functions as a trigger for antibodies to help our bodies survive when infected by the Covid-19 virus. To stimulate these antibodies, required 2 or 3 injections with 3-4 weeks intervals after the first injection.

The second injection is called a booster to respond to the secondary immune and the first injection is to respond to the primary immune. There are many types of vaccines. Those circulating in Indonesia are Sinovac, Astra Zeneca, Sinopharm, and most recently Pfizer. This vaccination is expected to create herd immunity. The priority vaccine recipients are health workers, comorbid patients, and pregnant women whose gestational age is above 13 weeks.

Vaccines also have side effects. For example, the Sinovac vaccine could cause fever, aches, and dizziness within 2x24 hours. Also, vaccine recipients could still be exposed to the Covid-19 virus even though they are vaccinated. It is best to avoid strenuous activity after vaccination. "Let's get vaccinated," she said as she closes her session.

Next is an explanation of self-management tips during pandemic by Fredrick Dermawan Purba, begin the results of his research with the team. They found that mothers, especially in Java, felt stressed because they did Work From Home (WFH). As a result, mothers become sensitive and irritable because their children and husband are at home.

As for college students, 80 percent complained about being easily tired, frequent headaches, feeling anxious and tense, then there were thoughts of depression. This stress is caused by the Work From Home system that never fulfills the expectations. Demands that do not balance the abilities also contribute to stress.

To prevent this, Fredrick said that we must manage our schedule for one week ahead so that we can adjust them with our capability. In addition, we must accept the situation that we are WFH. If you want to distract yourself because you are tired, you should rest for 10-20 minutes by light walking, watching movies, praying, etc. Then, see things from a positive perspective without denying the situation. Lastly, Fredrick also invited the participants to be more grateful to achieve a calmer mind.

Reporter: Kevin Agriva Ginting (Teknik Geodesi dan Geomatika, 2020)
Translator: Aghisna Syifa Rahmani (Biologi, 2020)