Agency denies polio vaccines danger
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In response to the deaths of four infants after they received polio vaccines last month, the City Health Agency is reassuring parents that the vaccines are safe.
The agency says there is no link between the four deaths and the vaccine, and has urged parents to bring their children in for a second round of vaccinations beginning on June 28.
"This oral polio vaccine is the safest of the vaccines for infants and side effects are very rare .... If parents refuse to take their infants in for the second round of vaccinations, we will have a serious problem in our efforts to eliminate the polio virus from the city," agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Masulili promised that the vaccine was safe for infants.
He added that the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency had approved the polio vaccine, which is manufactured by Bio Farma of Bandung.
"We have a certificate that guarantees the supply of vaccines we are using for the nationwide vaccination program has not passed the expiration date," Masulili said.
He said each bottle containing a polio vaccine came with safety indicators that could be read by nonexperts.
The agency said at least 923,000 infants received a polio vaccine last month, and claimed to have received no complaints about the vaccination program.
Concern over the safety of the polio vaccines surfaced following a report by the Legal Aid Institute for Health that 61 babies, including six in Jakarta, one in Depok and one in Bandung, had died or became sick after receiving "substandard" polio vaccines.
The parents of a nine-month-old girl, Nabila, who died six days after receiving a polio vaccine in Depok, have filed a complaint with the Jakarta Police against the Depok administration, which they accuse of negligence in the death of Nabila.
The Ministry of Health has denied any links between the vaccine and the children's deaths, citing a preliminary report by the National Committee on Post-Vaccination Incidents. The committee includes experts in public health, virology and microbiology from several universities.
Despite the assurances from the central government and the Jakarta administration, many parents remain concerned about the safety of the vaccines.
"I will not take my baby girl to the vaccination post .... I simply do not trust the poorly trained health workers who are giving the vaccines. Are their hands really clean?" said Noni, a resident of Karet, Central Jakarta.
Elita, who lives in Ciputat, South Jakarta, said reports on the possible side effects of the vaccines frightened her.
"I have consulted a relative who works at the City Health Agency and some friends, including my pediatrician. They all say the vaccination poses no danger for my baby, but I still worry about the safety of the vaccine," she said.
The city administration has said vaccinations are mandatory for all babies in order to ensure the capital is free of the polio virus.
After years of being officially declared polio-free, several cases of the disease were discovered early last month in Sukabumi, West Java, about 60 kilometers south of Jakarta.