Bojong Koneng children miss polio vaccination

Bojong Koneng children miss polio vaccination

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As many as 239 children under the age of five in Bojong Koneng
village, Bogor regency, West Java, missed the second round of
polio vaccinations on Sept. 27 because their parents were against
the immunization program.

Eyi, 35, one of the parents, said on Saturday she refused to
have her three-year-old daughter Rika vaccinated on Sept. 27
because she had suffered temporary paralysis after her first dose
of the vaccine on Aug. 30.

"I don't want my daughter to be immunized," Eyi told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Rika's case prompted hundreds of parents in Bojong Koneng to
take a similar stance.

Head of Neighborhood Unit 02, Community Unit 01 of Bojong
Koneng village Saefullah confirmed many residents in the
neighborhood unit were against the vaccination program.

He said the parents who were unwilling to have their children
immunized had given the excuse that their children were sick, or
had locked themselves in their houses upon the approach of
vaccination officers.

"I have tried to make them understand, but they continue to
oppose the program. Don't blame me if something happens in the
future," he added.

Head of epidemiology surveillance at the Bogor Health Agency
Eulis Wulandari feared the program would not reach 95 percent of
children under the age of five in the regency.

She said that in the first round of the program 91.75 percent
of 533,831 children under five in Bogor regency had been
vaccinated.

According to Eulis, based on World Health Organization (WHO)
reports, a similar reaction from parents had been observed in
Cijayanti and Caringin villages in Bogor.

She said around 25 polio cases have been found in 12 districts
in Bogor, including in Caringin, Megamendung, Cisarua, Tamansari,
Cibungbulang, Rumpin, Parung Panjang, Jasinga, Citeurep and
Cibinong.