Safety fears hamper polio vaccination<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tangerang\/Bogor<\/p>\n
Concern was etched on the faces of health workers at a
\nvaccination post in Pondok Ranji, Ciputat, Tangerang when only 28
\nchildren showed up by 11 a.m., four hours after it opened.<\/p>\n
And in a desperate move to persuade parents to bring their
\nchildren under five to the post, the workers resorted to a \"white
\nlie\" -- announcing through a loud speaker that celebrities from
\nthe capital Jakarta had come to the village.<\/p>\n
The trick didn't work well, with only a handful of parents
\nshowing up.<\/p>\n
But even the few parents who came to the post did not want
\ntheir children vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\"I am afraid to let my son receive the vaccine now. My son
\ndeveloped a high temperature for two days after receiving the
\nvaccine last month, forcing me to rush him to the doctor for
\ntreatment,\" said Rita, a resident of Pondok Ranji, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Siti Khodijah, a resident of Karet in South Jakarta, came to a
\nnearby post, asking health volunteers not to give the polio
\nvaccine to her 5-year-old grandchild, Dela Aprilita, arguing that
\nshe was ill with influenza.<\/p>\n
\"I'm worried that my granddaughter will get weak or sick like
\nthe children I saw on TV,\" said Khodijah, referring to news
\nreports suggesting that some children had fallen seriously ill
\nand died following the first polio vaccination last May 31.<\/p>\n
Although the Ministry of Health has repeatedly said that the
\nsicknesses and deaths had nothing to do with the vaccinations,
\nthe public at large have increasingly questioned the safety of
\npolio vaccine used in the campaign.<\/p>\n
Close to one million children under five were due to receive
\nthe vaccination in a program officially launched by First Lady
\nKristiani Herawati Yudhoyono on Tuesday. However, judging by
\nparents' lack of enthusiasm, the number of children receiving the
\nvaccine on Tuesday would be much lower than expected.<\/p>\n
Some parents came to the posts only to inform health workers
\nthat they did not want their children vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\"There are 23 children under five who have not been vaccinated
\nfor polio,\" Masri Yuningsih, coordinator of a post in Kuningan,
\nSouth Jakarta, told The Post after conducting a door-to-door
\ncheck looking for children under five.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want my child to die as happened to children I saw on
\nTV news,\" Yuningsih quoted parents as saying Tuesday.<\/p>\n
More than 200 parents in Megamendung and Gunung Putri
\ndistricts in Bogor declined to bring out their children.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Health Agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili acknowledged
\nTuesday that the number of children receiving the vaccine in the
\nsecond round would likely be lower than the 923,000 in the first
\nround.<\/p>\n
\"We call on parents to come to community health centers and
\nlet their children be vaccinated or allow health workers to give
\nthe vaccine in their homes when they do door-to-door checks,\"
\nMasulili said.<\/p>\n
Masulili said that his agency was going to spend a week
\ncarrying out the door-to-door checks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/safety-fears-hamper-polio-vaccination-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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