Media Can Play A Role in Building Vaccine Awareness Society – FAJAR

FAJAR.CO.ID, JAKARTA – In the midst of a pandemic, the media is not only able to provide correct and valid information. As the fourth pillar of democracy, the media can also play a role in providing education about COVID-19, especially about vaccines and vaccination programs.

One of the factors for the success of the MR vaccination program in East Java in mid-2017 cannot be separated from the role of the media. The socialization and education that was intensively carried out by the media together with the East Java Health Office produced results with a high level of public awareness of participating in the measles-rubella or measles-rubella (MR) immunization program at that time.

“Media really helps our job in carrying out immunization through education and outreach to the public. Media helps disseminate information, so that people are willing to be immunized, “said Dr. dr. Kohar Hari Santoso, Director of RSSA Malang and Chair of the East Java COVID-19 Task Force Tracing Team in a Productive Dialogue with the theme ‘Learning from the Success of the MR Vaccine in East Java and the Role of the Media in Vaccination’ online at the Media Center Committee for Handling COVID-19 and Recovery National Economy (KPCPEN), Tuesday (17/11/2020).

The former Head of the East Java Health Office admitted that at first many people refused – due to the lack of information provided by health workers. So that a lot of wrong and incorrect information circulates in the community.

“For example, there is still a possibility that there will be fever or fever after immunization. So at that time a child died and it was said that he had been given the vaccine. After our team of clinical experts went to the field, it turned out that the child was sick with dengue fever, ”he said.

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