It is our responsibility to nourish the country’s next generations.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Health Ministry has urged people to participate in the dissemination of information on the importance of complete basic immunization of children before planning their families.

"It is our responsibility to nourish the country’s next generations,” Director of Immunization Implementation at the ministry Prima Yosephine said in a podcast entitled “Kemencast,” which was followed from here on Friday.

She emphasized that a great nation must have healthy and strong future generations.

Currently, many young parents have not provided the complete basic vaccination to their children because they do not understand the importance of immunization or are concerned about adverse events following immunization (AEFI), she observed.

However, the occurrence of AEFI is common due to the incubation process of infectious agents contained in vaccines, she said.

She advised parents to take children to a health facility if they do not recover from AEFI after two days so that the children can get treated and health workers can assess whether the symptoms have been caused by vaccination or disease.

Hence, to help the public understand the impact, types, and schedule of basic immunization, she urged all stakeholders to cooperate in holding massive and effective dissemination on immunization, such as through webinars.

In addition to increasing the basic immunization coverage, information dissemination could also help prevent the spread of false information regarding vaccines, which often makes parents hesitant to get their children vaccinated, she stated.

Furthermore, Yosephine asked pregnant women to bring their husbands, parents, or in-laws when they get antenatal checkups to get more information about the importance of immunization from the doctor.

She also noted that currently, many medical experts are starting to use social media, such as Instagram or blogs, to talk about health issues, including the benefits of vaccinations.

Thus, she advised the people to also seek information from experts or the government’s official social media so that children's right to live a healthy life can be fulfilled.

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Translator: Hreeloita Shanti, Uyu Liman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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