Low Interest, Long Distances Become Obstacles To COVID-19 Vaccination For Elderly Groups In Aceh

ACEH - The Aceh Health Service stated that the distance to the vaccine injection site is still an obstacle to the low COVID-19 vaccination coverage for the elderly group. As a result, the service had to pick up the ball.

"For the elderly, it seems like we have to pick up the ball, yes, because there are many obstacles on the transportation side," said the Head of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Aceh Health Service, Dr. Iman Cheapman in Banda Aceh, Antara, Wednesday, July 7.

The Aceh government targets vaccination for the elderly group of 415,612 people. From that target, according to data from the Aceh Health Service, as of Tuesday, 14,956 elderly people who had been vaccinated with the first dose were. Furthermore, who have received the second dose 3,838 people.

According to Iman, the elderly are a group that is vulnerable to being infected with the corona virus, with a high mortality rate, so vaccination is needed to build immunity.

He explained that district/city governments have implemented a pick-up system by opening vaccination centers in sub-districts. However, the vaccination coverage is still low because the enthusiasm of the elderly to vaccinate is still lacking.

“As in Banda Aceh, vaccination centers have been established in each sub-district but the interest of the elderly is still lacking. Then because it is related to hoaxes, yes, that makes there is still a lack of confidence in vaccines," said Iman.

Initially, he said, the government opened vaccination services for the elderly in every regional hospital that had specialist doctors, so that if they experienced severe Post-Immunization Adverse Events (AEFI), they could be handled properly.

"But then no one came, so transportation was a little difficult if they had to come to the hospital, so then we made it at all puskesmas, and even then no one came, and then we opened it in the village center," said Iman.

Therefore, he said, the role of the gampong (village) government is quite important in the implementation of vaccination. "We must continue to increase socialization to the elderly so that all the elderly can be vaccinated," he said.