Indonesian Anti-slander Society Survey: Residents Don't Want Vaccines For Fear Of Side Effects

ILLUSTRATION / BETWEEN

JAKARTA - A survey conducted by the Indonesian Anti-Defamation Society (Mafindo) shows that most people in the area do not want to take vaccinations because they are afraid of experiencing side effects or Post Immunization Adverse Events (KIPI).

"One interesting thing we conducted a survey was, why haven't you been vaccinated, for fear of side effects. This is one of the biggest factors preventing people from being vaccinated because of that," said Harry Sufehmi, Founder and Presidium of the Indonesian Anti-Defamation Society (Mafindo) in an online discussion. regarding vaccination, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, November 30.

In addition, the survey also shows the reason people have not been vaccinated is because it is difficult to find vaccination locations, especially for people who are in the area.

Harry said that his party is trying to explain various things about AEFI to the public so that they want to be vaccinated.

"There is nothing to worry about, just follow the officers' instructions, for example, have breakfast or not, have enough rest or not, whether you are menstruating or not so that the risk of AEFI can be minimized," he said.

Harry explained that there are around 4.2 million anti-vaccine groups in Indonesia. According to Harry, this number is low when compared to the silent majority or people who do not respond either to the pros or cons of anti-vaccine propaganda, namely 74 million people.

However, Harry said that actually the silent majority could do more to increase vaccination coverage by playing a role in fighting hoax news related to vaccination.

According to Mafindo, currently Indonesian people still rely on television as the most trusted medium in getting news or information. He said that not all Indonesians access social media and are consumed by hoaxes about vaccines.

Nevertheless, Harry said the Indonesian people had started to rise up and fight hoaxes and propaganda related to COVID-19 and vaccination at the end of 2020. This factor, he said, also influenced public participation in vaccinating.