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BERAU – Health officials in Berau Regency are working to address a concerning decline in childhood immunization rates, fueled by misinformation and parental anxieties.
Immunization coverage in Berau reached approximately 65 percent in 2025, falling short of national targets. This trend is mirrored across East Kalimantan province, where no region has met its immunization goals.
According to Adi Haryono, a surveillance officer with the Berau Regency Health Office (Dinkes), the decrease in vaccinations is largely due to growing parental concerns about potential side effects.
“Immunization rates continue to decline,” Haryono stated, as reported by Berau Post on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. “Many parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children, fearing fever or other adverse reactions.”
A primary driver of this hesitancy is the spread of inaccurate information on social media, which has led to heightened anxieties among parents. This underscores the impact of online misinformation on public health initiatives.
“Some parents say their children became ill after vaccination, even as those who weren’t vaccinated remained healthy,” Haryono explained. “However, vaccines only prevent specific diseases, not all illnesses.”
Medically, vaccines are proven safe and effective in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases (PD3I), including tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, measles and polio. Maintaining high immunization rates is crucial for protecting community health.
The routine immunization program in Berau includes 14 different vaccines, such as Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b (DPT-Hib), Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Measles Rubella (MR), Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), as well as vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), and rotavirus.
In response to the declining rates, the Berau Regency Health Office is intensifying health promotion efforts through direct outreach to communities, cross-sector collaboration, and the apply of local media channels.
“The key is health promotion,” Haryono said. “We are continuously educating the public about preventing diseases that can be prevented with vaccines, both directly and through coordinated efforts across different sectors.”
The government is as well ensuring that all basic immunization services are available free of charge through integrated service posts (posyandu) and mobile vaccination teams visiting schools.
These measures are intended to increase immunization coverage and guarantee protection for children against serious diseases that could pose a risk to public health.
“These efforts are important to ensure continued protection against serious diseases in children, as well as to support overall public health,” Haryono concluded.
Penulis: Redaksi
