Identify reasons for vaccine hesitancy, says Indonesian medical expert

 

Indonesia enlisted the help of its Ulama Council, madrasahs and other Islamic authorities to endorse the Sinovac vaccine. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: Understanding and allaying the concerns of the public regarding vaccines is extremely important, says a doctor involved in the vaccination drive in Indonesia.

Dr M Rahman Roestan, the operational director of state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma Indonesia, said effective strategies can be formulated after identifying the factors for vaccine hesitancy to encourage the public to accept the vaccine jabs.

In Indonesia, he said, a section of the public initially had concerns about the halal status of the Sinovac vaccine.

“What we did was consult the Indonesian Ulama Council, madrasahs and other Islamic authorities to get their help.

“The Ulama Council inspected the materials and the equipment used in the production of the Sonivac vaccine before providing us the halal certification. That way, the halal issue was resolved,” he said in a forum organised by Pharmaniaga.

At the same forum, Dr Alexis M Kalergis from Chile said the scientific community had worked with universities to educate the public on vaccine efficacy.

He said scientists and doctors were advised to explain the effectiveness of vaccines to the public in simple terms.

“The scientific community, universities and the government shared scientific evidence on vaccine efficacy using social media platforms as most people get their information from there.

“We told scientists and medical doctors to be careful when they speak about vaccines so as not to confuse the public,” said the professor, who is also the director of immunology and immunotherapy at Millennium Institute, Chile. - FMT