Thousands miss out on vaccination<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Remoteness and fears about the safety of the polio vaccine have
\nresulted in some 400,000 under-fives in West Java still not been
\nvaccinated seven days after a massive polio vaccination drive
\nacross the country started on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n
West Java Health Agency director Yudi Prayuda said that many
\nchildren living in remote areas with poor access, such as Cidaun
\nand Cianjur, had yet to be vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\"... many parents are also refusing to let their children be
\nvaccinated,\" he said after a meeting with members of the West
\nJava legislative council on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to local health agency figures, 91 percent of the
\ntargeted 4.5 million under-fives in the province had been
\nvaccinated as part of a nationwide drive to vaccinate the
\ncountry's 24 million children. The second round of the drive is
\nscheduled for Sept. 27.<\/p>\n
The waterborne polio virus reemerged here after an absence
\nspanning nearly a decade, and has infected 226 children since
\nMarch this year.<\/p>\n
Right after the first cases in western Java were reported, two
\nUN-supported vaccination rounds were carried out in May and June,
\ninitially targeting 6.5 million children.<\/p>\n
However, unlike the first round, which was hailed as a
\nsuccess, the second round was dogged by rumors that three
\nchildren had died from taking the vaccine, and so only 5.5
\nmillion children turned up the second time around.<\/p>\n
Those three deaths were later attributed to other causes, but
\nparents and health workers remained nervous.<\/p>\n
Yudi said that in the latest polio vaccination drive, medical
\nworkers found it difficult to counter people's fears over the
\nsafety of the polio vaccine.<\/p>\n
Even an edict issued by the Indonesian Ulemas Council saying
\nthat the vaccine is halal (permitted for Muslims), has done
\nlittle to diminish people's fears, he added.<\/p>\n
He said the health agency had conducted an extensive campaign
\nprior to the vaccination drive and even drafted in eight experts
\nto assure people of the need to vaccinate their children.<\/p>\n
\"Still, it's hard as health workers cannot force parents to
\nhave their children vaccinated. It's their right to refuse,\" Yudi
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-miss-out-on-vaccination-1447893297",
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