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.