In the fight against polio, public trust in vaccination is a crucial factor. Unfortunately, rumors and hoaxes have eroded confidence in vaccines. However, healthcare workers in Bener Meriah District, Aceh Province, have taken matters into their own hands by becoming champions of safe vaccination, and their story is truly inspiring.
Fahrezi (3) followed his mother, Devi Kaweini, a midwife at the Puskesmas (Primary Healthcare Centre) Simpang Tiga, to SDN Tingkem elementary school that day. Devi brought him along to encourage students not to fear the polio vaccine. "My mom took me here to show that the vaccine is healthy and sweet," Fahrezi said.
In Bener Meriah District, healthcare workers bring their children to school to assure the safety of the novel oral poliomyelitis vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) vaccine to parents, teachers, and students. The presence of these children encourages other students and parents to get vaccinated, promoting public trust in vaccines.
"The main concern for vaccination is public trust," said Hasmikaini, the immunization coordinator of Puskesmas Simpang Tiga. Like other regions in Aceh, she faced parents' hesitancy regarding vaccination. In 2018, a child died after measles immunization in Aceh, and despite the Aceh Province Health Office's repeated clarifications of the rumors, the story spread throughout the province.
To make matters worse, some public servants, parliament members, and healthcare workers hesitated to vaccinate their children, making it even harder to convince parents to vaccinate their children. Many of these children are students of SDN Tingkem.
"People look at them as a reference, and it makes it harder to convince parents to vaccinate when they see that civil servants are also reluctant to vaccinate," Hasmikaini explained. So, they discussed the matter with the Head of Puskesmas, and the idea of bringing their children to vaccination sessions came to be.
They addressed the rumors with action by bringing their children to the vaccination sessions. This gesture proved that the vaccination is safe and effective.
The campaign was successful in decreasing parents' hesitancy in SDN Tingkem, resulting in 100% coverage in the school. This contributed to the 103.7% coverage rate in the district, the highest in the Aceh province for the first round. The success continued in the second round, with a 96% coverage rate in the Bener Meriah District.
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Budi, an immunization officer from Puskesmas Simpang Tiga, gave two drops of the nOPV2 vaccine to a student at SDN Tingkem, Bener Meriah District. The district reached the highest vaccination coverage in Aceh Province in the first round of supplementary immunization activities (SIA). WHO/Fauzan Ijazah
The teachers at SDN Tingkem praised the strategy, finding it highly effective. Mursalawati, the school's principal, said, "Stories of the showcase spread among the parents, and they agreed to let their children get vaccinated at school."
All children in her school got vaccinated, and the story was shared through the WhatsApp groups of school principals, who distributed it to other principals and helped brief the parents about immunization.
Winning immunization at schools and integrated service posts (Posyandu) is a priority for the vaccination campaign in Bener Meriah District. One school may have up to 600 vaccine recipients, making the campaign more manageable and effective. Healthcare workers spread the story as inspiration for other puskesmas and schools.
Thanks to the healthcare workers in Bener Meriah who were willing to go the extra mile to gain community acceptance, their work raised the standard of how healthcare workers can support community health. Trust is earned, and children in Bener Meriah who received nOPV2 vaccines now have better protection against type 2 polio virus. This story demonstrates the power of leading by example, and the impact it can have on a community.
WHO gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions of GAVI, USAID, and the US CDC towards the polio outbreak response in Aceh.
Written by Salman Nursiwan