Muninggar Sri Saraswati

Muninggar Sri Saraswati
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Implementation of the National Immunization Week (PIN) in Greater
Jakarta failed to run smoothly, with several PIN centers lacking
polio vaccines while at other centers supplies were left unused
due to a lack of participants.

A volunteer at a PIN center in Setiabudi, South Jakarta,
acknowledged the oversupply of polio vaccines and vitamin A.

"On Thursday, there were dozens of toddlers who came for the
vaccinations and vitamins. The number declined on Friday. While
on Saturday, nobody showed up," Ida told The Jakarta Post on
Sunday.

The center, which had supplies for 100 children, was closed on
Saturday and the leftovers were given to the local community
health center (Puskesmas).

While one PIN center had an oversupply of vaccines, other PIN
centers suffered a shortage.

Benny, a resident of a housing complex in Tangerang, told the
Post that his five-year-old daughter had not yet obtained free
vaccine at her Tarakanita kindergarten until a day after PIN
commenced on Thursday.

"On Thursday, only two toddlers obtained the vaccine. The
officers said that they had no supply. But as of Friday, they
were unable to give the vaccine to any more toddlers," he said.

The kindergarten has been appointed as a PIN center, along
with baby health centers (Posyandu), Puskesmas, state-run and
privately-run hospitals, as well as health clinics.

The PIN program focuses on giving children under five polio
vaccine and vitamin A supplement. Vice President Hamzah Haz
officially inaugurated the nationwide program here on Thursday.

Some 20.8 million children are expected to be given the
immunization. The government has 248,599 PIN centers, staffed by
a total of five million health workers around the country.

The immunization program, sponsored by foreign donors, aims to
render the country polio-free by 2005.

In Jakarta, the city administration estimated that 758,378
toddlers would be given the vaccines at 8,810 PIN centers during
the first round of the PIN program. The second round is expected
to start on Oct. 9.

On Thursday, beritajakarta.com, the city administration-owned
website, reported that tens of thousands of toddlers had been
given the vaccine.

However, some parents seem to lack awareness of the program.

"Is it really free of charge? I watched the advertisement on
television, but I have no money," said Saini, the mother of an
eight-month-old baby, who lives in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.