Strategy for implementation of School child immunization month program In covid-19 pandemic at batujajar health center

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has hindered one of the government’s health sector programs, the School Child Immunization Month (BIAS). The complete immunization program must still follow the schedule to protect children from immunization-preventable diseases. This study sought strategies, processes, and obstacles in implementing the BIAS program during the COVID-19 pandemic at Batujajar Health Center from December 2020 to January 2021. The study design was a qualitative method by conducting in-depth interviews. The informants were selected through a purposive sampling technique to obtain the information required for the study. The results showed that immunization was only administered in safe zones, and socialization was distributed from the Community Health Centre to schools by WhatsApp (WA) application. The school used WA to deliver the socialization to parents, then recorded the students to immunize, and chose places fulfilling health protocols. The BIAS process during the COVID-19 pandemic was the selection of place, time, and the number of people involved for BIAS with the health protocol, monitoring by the immunization program coordinator through field officers reporting, and evaluations during monthly workshops. Some problems occurring in the BIAS program were there were external obstacles like school’s difficulty applying health protocols during the administration, and some parents’ resistance to children’s immunization, misinformation that it was a vaccine for COVID-19 or the vaccine was expired, children were sick of afraid of the syringe. Better socialization and coordination on the implementation of this program was needed