EXPLORING FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SLOW COVID-19 VACCINE ROLLOUT IN PANDEGLANG DISTRICT, INDONESIA: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Indonesia was severely hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and thus, rapid vaccination of most of the population was imperative to help suppress the virus transmission and return to normalcy. However, vaccination progress appeared to be slow in many Indonesian regions, including the Pandeglang District. The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors that contribute to the slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Pandeglang District of Banten Province, Indonesia. A series of audio-recorded focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with the director of the Pandeglang District Health Department, community leaders, health workers, and individuals targeted by the COVID-19 vaccination program. The audio data were then transcribed and thematically analyzed to extract the participants’ perspectives on factors that affected vaccination rollout in Pandeglang. The analysis stage revealed five factors at the community and organizational levels that hindered the COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Factors at the community level were the fear of adverse reactions following immunization, the halal issue of the newly invented COVID-19 vaccines, comorbidities that prevented individuals from being vaccinated, and inadequate health literacy. On the other hand, the scarcity of the COVID-19 vaccine supply was the factor identified at the organizational level. Since the issues occurred at both community and organizational levels, the government of Pandeglang District and central governments should work together to address the problems and increase the likelihood of vaccination success. It is important to involve religious leaders in vaccination campaigns to gain the trust of the local community and alleviate vaccine hesitancy on religious grounds. At the same time, education through an appropriate medium is required to raise the community’s COVID-19 literacy and mitigate the negative effects of the incessant false information. Securing more COVID-19 vaccine supply from the existing manufacturers while accelerating the development of Indonesian-made COVID-19 vaccines and improving the distribution system would help ensure vaccine availability.