The Covid-10 vaccine that will be imported to Indonesia. Photo: AP / Ng Han Guan / CNBCIndonesia
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Jakarta – Chairman of the Committee for Handling Covid-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN) who is also the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, confirmed that 30 million doses of vaccine will be received by Indonesia in the fourth quarter of 2020. The vaccines come from Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Astra Zeneca.
This was revealed by Airlangga at the Media Center for the Covid-19 Handling Task Force Graha BNPB Jakarta, Monday afternoon, October 12, 2020.
Talking about vaccines, there are several myths about vaccines and immunizations that are milling about in society. Many myths make people reluctant to undergo vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) also agrees that one in ten global health threats is people’s doubts about vaccines.
In line with this, a pediatrician from the Parent Care Foundation, Windhi Kresnawati, said that the circulation of a myth has been an obstacle to the vaccination program for a long time.
He expressed this in the Webinar of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), Monday, October 12, 2020 with the theme Fact Check on Vaccine Myths.
Quoted BantenHits.com from the site covid19.go.id, the following is a series of myths that Windhi says should be corrected:
1. Myth Infectious diseases can be avoided with a healthy lifestyle alone
Windhi did not deny that a healthy lifestyle is a good habit. But he warned, this method is not effective enough to prevent infection with certain diseases. The facts about this assumption can be seen in the United States.
When the measles vaccine was discovered in the US in 1963, the disease gradually disappeared. Even in 1974, the US government declared that they were measles-free.
What needs to be underlined is that the pattern and lifestyle of US citizens from 1963 to 1974 has not changed. This means that the biggest role in the loss of measles in the US is immunization or vaccination. Not just a healthy lifestyle.
This condition began to change when in the US, sects or community groups began to doubt the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella). This was followed by a growing number of people doubting the role of the measles vaccine. “As a result, in 2018 the United States experienced another measles outbreak. This is because many migrants from other countries do not vaccinate and refuse vaccinations are high, “said Windhi.
2. Myth that children who are immunized are still sick
Windhi explained that even if they experience illness, the severity experienced by immunization patients is very light. Children who are immunized, if sick, will avoid disability and death.
“And don’t forget, if you are not immunized and you are not sick, thank the person who got immunized. That’s why herd immunity. When we are in the midst of healthy people, we don’t catch disease, ”said Windhi.
3. The myth that vaccines contain dangerous substances
Windhi emphasized that this was wrong. Vaccines that have been mass produced must meet the main requirements: safe, effective, stable, and cost efficient. This means the length of the process.
“After being declared safe, it is used by the wider community under monitoring. If our country is under BPOM. Because there is one finding that unwanted side effects can be withdrawn and usually it is caught in the early phase, “said Windhi.
4. Vaccine myths cause autism
Windhi confirmed that there is no link between the vaccine content against autism in children. This has been proven in in-depth and long research, even more than 10 years. Thimerosal is one of the vaccine ingredients that was accused of triggering autism in children. This thimerosal functions as a vaccine preservative.
The United States abolished thimerosal in 1999 for fear that it could trigger autism. But the fact is, after thimerosal was abolished, the autism rate in the United States didn’t go down.
“The number of autism has actually gone up. This means that there is no relationship between autism and thimerosal, “said Windhi.
Researchers also looked at thimerosal levels in the bodies of autistic children and non-autistic children. As a result, there is no difference between the two. This further confirms that thimerosal does not cause autism, but genetics.
“So don’t be consumed by hoaxes with thimerosal that causes autism. There are lots of researches and it’s easy to find them on the internet, ”explained Windhi.
5. Myth vaccines contain aborted fetal cells
Windhi also denied this. He explained that viruses do need a host in the form of living cells to survive and reproduce. For example, the measles, rubella, polio, and even SARS Cov-2 viruses require a host in the form of living cells.
In making vaccines, the virus will indeed infect the living cells and is produced over and over again over the years leaving the original cells. Meanwhile, what is taken as a vaccine component is part of the virus or virus itself.
“So, if someone says there are fetal cells being used, it happened in the 1960s, where it was legally used to make vaccines and that is the only process that occurs. So, are there fetal cells in the vaccine? The answer, there is only the product, which is in the form of a virus, “he explained.
6. Myths of diseases that already have a vaccine, no need for vaccination anymore
This too is clearly a hoax. Many studies have shown that a decrease in the rate of vaccination leads to an increase in the specific diseases that these vaccines fight against. This had happened in Indonesia in mid-late 2017. Initially the diphtheria outbreak occurred in Java and spread to Sumatra. The government also decided to carry out national immunization and to eliminate diphtheria immunization until the age of 19 years.
“In the US it also happened, in 2018 the immunization rate fell and appeared again. Polio has reappeared in Papua, even though we once got the polio-free flag from WHO. Rubella measles is still threatening because of the many hoaxes earlier. So be careful, if the numbers start to fall and we are facing this epidemic, it is very suffering, ”Windhi explained.
7. The issue of halal-haram vaccines
Windhi said that this issue only occurs in Indonesia. Even in the Middle East with Muslim-majority countries, the pros and cons of the halal vaccine do not occur. All people in the world also agree on the importance of vaccines.
“And pilgrims must be vaccinated. That’s why I said funny, why only us. So the trigger is Trypsin which is borrowed from the enzyme pig to produce a good harvest. In order to get a vaccine component, “said Windhi.
He said the public needed to understand that no pork part was included in the vaccine. This enzyme will be purified again so that the intermediate components do not enter the vaccine. When the production process comes in contact with enzymes from pork, in the end, only the virus is included in the vaccine.
If you still don’t want to. Because it intersects, we refer to other developed countries which are predominantly Muslim and MUI which have conveyed halal. For good and in a situation to prevent heavier and more dangerous diseases, the halal vaccine, “he said.
Those were some examples of myths about vaccines that are still circulating in the community. Vaccination is one effective way to break the chain of disease transmission, including later on COVID-19(Advertorial)
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