JAKARTA – People do not need to be afraid to vaccinate, because vaccination or immunization has been known since the 18th century in the world and has been proven capable and has a high success rate in protecting humans, by providing immunity from various diseases. In Indonesia, one example of the success of vaccines is the prevention of transmission of smallpox in the 1980s.
Director of Health Surveillance and Quarantine, Directorate General of P2P, Ministry of Health, drg. R. Vensya Sitohang M Epid, stated, “Don’t be afraid of immunization, because quality is maintained and of course, from registration to manufacturing, is maintained. Also escorted by WHO (world health agency) and of course implementation in Indonesia is also guarded by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) “. This was conveyed when he was a speaker in the dialogue “Vaccines: Protecting Yourself, Protecting the Country” which was held at the Media Center for the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), and broadcast on the FMB9 YouTube channel, Thursday (1/10/20).
Vaccines are available for various diseases, ranging from smallpox, polio, tuberculosis, pneumonia, tetanus, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, diphtheria, japanese enchephalitis, pertussis, and the latest cervical cancer. Including maternal tetanus and for newborns that were successfully eliminated in 2016. There are also maternal and neonatal diseases.
“The development of vaccination never stops. Therefore, support from all parties is needed, so that all those who are targeted for immunization can get their rights and receive immunizations to avoid diseases that can be prevented through immunization,” he continued.
To regulate the provision of vaccines, the government has prepared Law no. 36 of 2009 concerning Health which regulates every child has the right to receive basic immunization according to the provisions to prevent diseases that are avoided through immunization. Through Permenkes No. 12 of 2017 the government will provide and distribute all logistics related to immunization starting from the vaccine, syringes, safety boxes and so on.
Especially for the COVID-19 vaccine, so far the government has prepared a roadmap so that the vaccine is available on time. “For the short term, the Government has conducted diplomacy with various parties in the provision of vaccines. Meanwhile, in the long term, the development of the Red and White vaccine, domestic production, is carried out,” said Vensya.
Regarding vaccinations in children, the Head of Public Relations and Welfare of Indonesian Pediatricians Association (IDAI) members, Dr. Hartono Gunadi, stated, “It is necessary to educate parents so that they have an understanding of immunization, without fearing that their children will contract dangerous infectious diseases that should be prevented by immunization. Parents need to understand, accept and have a good attitude towards immunization, “.
One of the misconceptions is fever that occurs after a healthy child is immunized. So that there is an opinion that immunization is dangerous. In fact, only 1 percent of the 100 percent of the immunized children may suffer from fever
“The side effects are very mild and temporary and can be relieved by simple treatment compared to the complications that can be caused if the child does not have immunity,” explained Hartono. For example, if pentavalent immunization is not given, a child can get diphtheria, tetanus, cough for 100 days including pneumonia which is the number one cause of death in children under 5 years.
Vaccine side effects or what are known as post-immunization follow-up events (AEFI) are divided into two. There are generalized or systemic AEFIs such as fever, decreased appetite, weakness or fussiness most often. It said it was only temporary and disappeared in 1 or 2 days. Then there is another local AEFI such as injection marks that will cause soreness, swelling or redness that will disappear in just a few days. He asked parents not to panic and be afraid of immunization.
At the dialogue forum, Unicef Indonesia’s Communication for Development Specialist Rizky Ika Syafitri stated, “Indonesia itself has been implementing the immunization program for more than 30 years. In the world it is even longer and it is proven that vaccines save millions of children from death, illness and disability “.
Rizky said that in providing immunization to the community, there are many challenges faced. Like there are people who do not know that immunization is important. Then there are lots of fake news or hoaxes related to immunization. “The government together with Unicef and other institutions are trying to answer various misinformation and fake news related to immunization,” said Rizky.
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