Mothers Play a Crucial Role in Determining Children's Vaccination, Doctors Warn of Misinformation Dangers

Jakarta – The role of mothers is considered to have significant influence in increasing awareness and family decisions regarding children’s vaccination.

As public attention to preventive healthcare grows, mothers frequently become the most active party in determining health protection measures for family members, particularly children.

James Andrew Wihardja, CEO of Bumame, stated that the demand for family health services continues to develop, ranging from pregnancy programmes to child health monitoring.

According to James, experience during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that women often become the decision-makers regarding family health matters.

“We learned from the pandemic that the people making decisions related to family health are often women, whether mothers or children themselves,” he said.

He believed this condition also contributed to increasing awareness about the importance of vaccination in children.

The growing accessibility of health information has enabled many mothers to better understand their children’s immunisation needs from an early age.

“In my view, in Indonesia, vaccines related to mothers and children are very significant, because today’s mothers are familiar with and know their children’s vaccination needs,” said James.

He added that this phenomenon reflects a shift in public mindset that increasingly prioritises disease prevention over treating illnesses after they develop.

The health approach focusing on prevention, including through vaccination, is considered an important step to maintain family health quality in the long term.

“Vaccination in children is very crucial because many serious diseases can actually be prevented through complete vaccination from an early age,” explained Dr. Dirga.

According to him, basic vaccinations given during childhood play an important role in forming long-term protection against various infectious diseases.