People should no longer hesitate in taking part in the government’s ongoing MR immunization program. Through Fatwa No. 33/2018, the fatwa commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is allowing the use of the MR vaccine in the national MR immunization program.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – People should no longer hesitate in taking part in the government’s ongoing measles-rubella (MR) immunization program.
Through Fatwa No. 33/2018, the fatwa commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is allowing the use of the MR vaccine in the national MR immunization program.
The fatwa issued on Monday (20/8/2018) permits the use of the MR vaccine. The ulema agreed to allow the use of the MR vaccine on three main considerations, one of which is that a halal MR vaccine is not available.
"The fatwa can be used as a platform and guide for the government in carrying out the MR immunization program. This could also be a reference for the people, so that they will no longer hesitate to be immunized with the vaccines the government has provided," MUI fatwa commission secretary Asrorun Niam said on Thursday (23/8) at the Health Ministry, which held a news conference regarding the MUI fatwa on the MR vaccine.
Also on Thursday, the Health Ministry invited the heads of 34 provincial health agencies to discuss the importance of implementing the MR immunization. "The meeting was held so that everyone received reliable information on the MR immunization program, especially on aspects relating to religion and health," said the ministry’s disease prevention and control director general Anung Sugihantono.
Disseminating information
The meeting was expected to remove any doubts among the public and local governments over the immunization program. "We will disseminate information to all regions," Anung said.
Information on the immunization program is currently being disseminated in the 28 provinces outside Java that are in the second phase of the MR immunization program. By Aug. 22, 32 million children had received the MR vaccine in the 28 provinces.
The MR mass vaccination program targets all children from 9 months to 15 years, an estimated 67 million children. The immunization program covered 35 million children in Java from August to September 2017.
Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has also issued a letter supporting the MR immunization campaign and program implementation that was sent to all governors, regents and mayors.
Some people in certain areas, such as the Riau Islands, showed resistance to the MR immunization program because the MR vaccine had not received halal certification by the time it was launched in the province on Aug. 1.
A similar resistance was also seen in North Sumatra. "After (the second MR immunization program) had been running for almost a month, we faced public resistance, especially with regard to religious views concerning whether MR is halal or not. However, we are optimistic that the public would be more willing to accept [the program] in the future after the MUI issued the fatwa permitting the use of the MR vaccine," said the head of the North Sumatra health agency at the University of North Sumatra’s teaching hospital in Medan.
The MR immunization program for North Sumatra covered 900,414 children in the first two months of its implementation, or 21 percent of its 4.2 million target.
The central board chairman of the Indonesian Pediatricians Association, Dr. Aman Bhakti Pulungan, said that an area would be safe from measles and rubella with an immunization coverage of 90-95 percent.
Health rights
At the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), civil rights and child participation commissioner Jasra Putra said the MR immunization program was one of the government’s efforts to ensure the right of every child to a healthy life. The effort must be comprehensive, covering children from fetal development to adulthood.
Agustama said if the rubella virus infected a child, the symptoms were similar to measles, involving a fever and rash. However, a viral infection in pregnant women was very dangerous, because it would cause congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and lead to congenital birth defects in babies such as heart disease, deafness, cataracts and brain tissue damage.
The Health Ministry’s data shows 57,056 suspected measles-rubella cases from 2014 to July 2018. Of these, 8,964 are measles cases and 5,737 are rubella cases.
Treating someone with measles costs Rp 2.7 million to Rp 13 million, while CRS treatment costs more than Rp 395 million per person. Measles and rubella can be prevented with a vaccine that costs around Rp 29,000 per person.