The public was again made anxious after the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia Police arrested the maker and distributor of fake toddler vaccines in Bekasi on Wednesday, June 22 2016. Responding to this, on Sunday, June 26 2016, Minister of Health Nila F. Moeloek said that the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is currently collecting data on hospitals that may use the vaccine. Minister Nila also appealed to parents whose children received fake vaccine injections to immediately repeat the vaccine which will be provided free of charge by the government[1].
In this regard, PATTIRO Executive Director Sad Dian Utomo emphasized that after the Ministry of Health obtained data on hospitals using fake vaccines, they must disclose this information to the public. “Because this concerns the interests of the wider community, the Ministry of Health is obliged to disclose information about hospitals using fake vaccines. Please note, one of the consequences of giving fake vaccines is that children become immune to a disease. “So, the public has the right to know because this is related to the health condition of their children in the future,” stressed Sad Dian.
Therefore, Sad Dian added, the government must rule out the possibility of disrupting the business climate of hospitals that are proven to use fake vaccines.
Apart from that, said Sad Dian, by making the hospital data transparent, the public can easily find out whether their children are victims of fake vaccines or not. “If the data is not made public, how can parents know whether the vaccine injected into their child is genuine or fake,” he said.
Sad Dian said, if the public knew this data, they could immediately take action, such as re-vaccinating their children so they would not contract dangerous diseases such as polio, tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis and others.
Furthermore, regarding the government’s plan to provide free revaccination, Sad Dian said that the Ministry of Health must be serious about realizing this commitment. “Don’t let it happen, this plan is just a reactive response from the Ministry of Health. “There must be follow-up,” he concluded.
According to Sad Dian, before being able to provide re-vaccination, the Ministry of Health must create and socialize a reporting flow to the public. “After finding out that their child was a victim of fake vaccines, parents certainly need a place to report it. So, this is the first thing the Ministry of Health needs to prepare, to whom and where parents can report. “This flow must be made clearly and also socialized to the community,” he said.
Not only that, regarding providing free re-vaccination, Sad Dian said, the Ministry of Health must also create a clear mechanism. The Ministry of Health needs to provide a detailed explanation of what the community needs to do after reporting to the party they appoint.
“For example, after reporting, are there certain terms and conditions that the public needs to complete or do they need to verify first. Apart from that, the Ministry of Health must also determine where people can get revaccination for their children. “This must be made as clear as possible so that the public is not confused and if the Ministry of Health is serious about realizing its commitment,” stressed Sad Dian.
