National Immunization Week gets off to shaky start
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 kindergarten due to a lack of supply 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.
Benny's daughter is enrolled at the private Tarakanita kindergarten in Tangerang. The kindergarten has been appointed as a PIN center, along with baby health centers (Posyandu), community health centers (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, which commences on Sept. 12. The second round is expected to start on Oct. 9.
On the first day of the immunization week, 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.