PRESS RELEASE

A third of DKI residents are still worried about the Covid-19 vaccine

Jakarta, 13 June 2021 – As of Saturday (12/6) 2.87 million Jakarta residents had been vaccinated with the first dose and more than 1.86 million people had received the second Covid-19 vaccination. Even though DKI Jakarta is ranked second as the province with the highest vaccination coverage after Bali, the implementation of vaccination still faces various obstacles, including residents' concerns. Referring to the findings of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and several reports in the media, one of the biggest challenges to the vaccination program is the public's rejection of vaccines. Issues such as prohibition, side effects, inefficacy, and vaccine accessibility are problems that must be addressed together.

In response to this, LaporCovid-19, the Social and Crisis Intervention Lab – Faculty of Psychology UI, and the Social Resilience Lab, NTU conducted a survey-based study to explore barriers and map the perceptions of DKI residents towards vaccination. The survey was conducted for two weeks from 30 April-15 May 2021 and was attended by 57,231 respondents spread throughout the DKI Jakarta area, however only 47,457 respondents completed the survey and it was validated. Most of the respondents were high school graduates (53.8 percent) and bachelor's degrees (13.6 percent), housewives (42.8 percent), private workers (15.48 percent) and other occupations only 10.9 percent. In terms of health risks of Covid-19 infection, 70.95 percent of respondents admitted that they did not have comorbidities. The survey was conducted online with samples drawn using the Convenience Sampling method. The distribution of the survey was assisted by the DKI Jakarta Governance Bureau and the citizen community network. To study the barriers and factors that encourage DKI residents to be vaccinated, we use the Health Belief Model approach which measures general trends in concerns, vulnerabilities, barriers and benefits of vaccination.

Halalness, Vaccine Efficacy and Side Effects Are Still Issues

One of the main findings of this survey is that although the majority of DKI residents who took part in the survey felt confident and willing to be vaccinated, ? respondents (10,789 people) were worried that the Covid-19 vaccine was not halal. Interestingly, the issue of halal vaccines does not only belong to Muslims, but is also reflected by non-Muslims. Apart from that, there are still 34% of respondents (16,102 people) who are worried about the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine, which means they think the Covid-19 vaccine is not able to protect against infection with the SARS-nCov2 virus. Meanwhile, 32% of respondents (14,889 residents) were afraid of vaccine side effects or post-immunization side effects (AEFI). Interestingly, those aged 50-60 years (pre-elderly), those working in the TNI/POLRI and health workers are the groups with the highest concerns about being affected by the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Apart from that, this survey shows that the majority of DKI residents (70%) relatively do not have significant obstacles in getting information regarding registration, vaccination locations and transportation. However, a small number of respondents (13.4 percent or 6,366 people) admitted that they still had difficulty accessing information about vaccination. Even though the number of elderly respondents was only 18.7 percent, a third (32.56 percent) of the elderly age group showed dependence on other people to register and go to vaccination sites.

Recommendation

Even though the number is relatively small, 8 percent of respondents to this survey stated that they were not willing to be vaccinated. However, considering that DKI Jakarta still has a fairly high trend of Covid-19 transmission and has even recently shown a surge in positive Covid-19 patients, serious and strategic efforts are needed to respond to concerns about vaccines which are quite high (a third of residents are worried, meaning 1 in 3 residents have concerns) so that vaccination coverage continues to increase. Don't let the concerns that residents have discourage them from getting vaccinated, especially to avoid the pandemic situation getting worse again before efforts to overcome it through vaccination improve (avoid it gets worse before it gets better). Therefore, based on the findings of this survey we recommend the following:

1. Intensify education and outreach for the region and to groups of DKI Jakarta residents who still have high concerns about the effectiveness and benefits of vaccination, side effects and halal vaccines.
2. Targeting more specifically regions and citizen groups to convey key messages regarding the effectiveness and benefits of vaccination, the low risk of post-immunization adverse events (AEFI) and the readiness of management for handling AEFI, and the halalness of vaccines. Key messages are conveyed using language, message medium and messenger that are appropriate to the area and group of citizens being targeted.
3. Make it easier for residents to access vaccination services, namely in the following ways:
   1. Continuing support for poor residents (mobilizing RT/RW, door-to-door outreach, transportation assistance, etc.)
   2. Providing convenience in scheduling and easy access to vaccination locations (especially for pre-seniors and the elderly)
   3. Guaranteeing a free vaccination program

With its distinctive character as a capital with relatively better infrastructure (health, information communication, etc.) compared to other provinces, outreach and optimization of vaccination coverage in DKI Jakarta will provide an indication of the overall success of Covid-19 vaccination in Indonesia. The success of the Covid-19 vaccination in DKI Jakarta will provide an initial reflection of readiness for successful vaccination in Indonesia.

---

This study was led by Dicky Pelupessy, Ph.D, one of the expert collaborators onreportcovid19.org.
Please contact via the following number:
WhatsApp: +62818824402
Instagram: @Laporcovid19
Twitter: @ReportCovid
FB: Report Covid19

The rebroadcast can be watched at YouTube ReportCovid-19
This press release can be downloaded via following link.
This Press Release presentation can be downloaded via following link.