Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that strengthening communication involves using social media influencers to provide explanations in simpler terms.
Speaking during a working meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday, he emphasized that measles is a highly contagious disease, particularly among children.
He noted that spikes in measles cases typically occur during specific periods, such as the beginning of the year when public mobility increases, including when children return to school.
According to the minister, vaccination remains the most effective intervention to curb the spread of infectious diseases as proven by COVID-19.
He acknowledged that measles vaccination coverage declined during the pandemic as the government's focus shifted toward emergency response.
As a result of this shift in priorities, many children throughout the country missed their scheduled routine vaccinations.
Furthermore, he noted that significant challenges remain in increasing the vaccination coverage in Indonesia, particularly regarding public trust and concerns over the halal status of vaccines.
"The main issue with measles-rubella is that the group of people who do not trust vaccinations is quite large," he remarked.
In this regard, the government is implementing Outbreak Response Immunization in areas with high case numbers to break the chain of transmission.
Through these initiatives, the government provides vaccines to all children in a targeted area regardless of their previous immunization history.
Sadikin affirmed that the effort has shown positive results as the number of cases declined in line with increased coverage.
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Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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