Make sure that families are not fooled by hoaxes or myths surrounding immunization that cannot be verified and cause disturbancesJakarta (ANTARA) - Around 1.7 million Indonesian children had not yet received complete basic immunization during the 2019-2021 period or during the COVID-19 pandemic, Government spokesperson for COVID-19 Handling Reisa Broto Asmoro stated.
During the Health Broadcast virtual event on Monday, Asmoro noted that this condition can be quite dangerous for the children's health, as it can trigger the emergence of a new plague or can lead to death.
Moreover, several diseases, such as tuberculosis, measles, rubella, hepatitis, diphtheria, polio, and meningitis, have started to surface once again among children.
However, she noted that such diseases are preventable through immunization.
By taking into account the danger posed to children, Asmoro urged every parent to realize the importance of immunization that can provide protection to children from various types of diseases.
Several historical records on immunization have proven that immunization can protect children from the virus. To this end, she expects every parent to include their children in the immunization program.
The spokesperson also called for proper dissemination of information to families and to ensure that every information that they receive comes from trusted sources.
"Make sure that families are not fooled by hoaxes or myths surrounding immunization that cannot be verified and cause disturbance," she cautioned.
Asmoro advised that people should receive accurate information concerning immunization from trusted sources, such as the Health Ministry, health office, or local public health center (puskesmas).
During the event, the spokesperson also informed that the government had readied three important strategies to encourage the completion of basic immunization among children.
The first strategy concerns adding three types of routine immunization for children, thereby leading to a total of 14 vaccines.
The second is related to creating an application named Sehat IndonesiaKu (ASIK) as a platform to record immunization.
The third revolves around learning from the experience of providing COVID-19 vaccination to children.
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Translator: Hreeloita D S, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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