P

eople’s reluctance to get their newborns vaccinated has been blamed as one of the main causes of the recent diphtheria outbreaks in 30 provinces across Indonesia.

Some communities question whether the vaccine is halal, while others reject the vaccination due to prevailing doubts about the effectiveness of vaccination as campaigned by antivaccine groups in the country.

The government could have decided to take legal action against the antivaccine movements, which have hindered the national immunization program. However, the government has opted for a more persuasive approach to encourage citizens to vaccinate their children.

“It is possible for us to refer to the law on child protection [to sanction those who refuse vaccination]; but right now, we are focusing our attention more on taking a persuasive approach,” Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek said in a discussion on immunization, diphtheria and antivaccine movements held by the Communications and Information Ministry on Friday.

The 2002 Child Protection Law stipulates that immunization, which is categorized as a healthcare service, is the right of every child. The law also mentions that deliberate negligence resulting in a child becoming sick can be legally sanctioned.

It has also been stipulated in the 2009 Health Law that every child is entitled to receive complete basic immunization to protect them against contracting infectious diseases that can be prevented through vaccination. The government is required to make sure that the stated right is fulfilled, the law further specifies.

Health Ministry Regulation (Permenkes) No. 12/2017 also serves as the legal basis of the country’s immunization program. Article 33 of the regulation stipulates that anyone who hinders the government’s immunization program is subject to legal sanctions.

Yanuar Nugroho, deputy to the presidential chief of staff, said as diphtheria outbreaks had continued to occur in cities and regencies across the country, imposing legal sanctions on those deemed to be involved in antivaccine movements could spark turmoil.

According to Health Ministry data, by the end of December 2017, 954 diphtheria cases were reported to have occurred in areas across Indonesia. As of Jan. 9, 14 more diphtheria cases have been reported in four provinces, namely Banten, Jakarta, Lampung and West Java. The cases were reported in 170 cities and regencies in 30 provinces.

In December last year, a petition published on change.org, which has so far collected 7,005 signatures, urged the government to take measures against the anti-vaccine movements and associated public figures, which it said had mainly expressed their anti-vaccine stance on social media.

The creator of the petition, concerned by diphtheria outbreaks, which were still occurring despite the government’s immunization program, referred to several Facebook pages that they deemed to have campaigned against vaccinations, including an account under the name of Aisha Maharani, the founder Halal Corner, a civil society organization that provides information about halal products in Indonesia.

“Halal Corner does not take a stance against vaccines alone. We are carrying out our mission to provide information about the importance of halal products in every aspect of a Muslim’s life,” Aisha said.

State pharmaceutical company Bio Farma president director said Indonesian citizens should have no problem with immunization because the company had exported their vaccines to 136 countries, 50 of which were Muslim or Muslim-majority countries. (nmn)