PERCEPTIONS ABOUT VACCINES AND BARRIERS TO COVID-19 VACCINATION AMONG INDONESIAN ELDERLY

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is still the main focus in the handling process in Indonesia and is currently entering the vaccination stage. The elderly (aged 60 years and above) are no exception, who are the first line of vaccination targets in Indonesia. However, after the vaccination was carried out there was a fairly severe impact experienced by the elderly so that the vaccination process for the elderly was still not comprehensive and received rejection. Therefore, this study aims to (1) describe the perception of the Covid-19 vaccine among the elderly and (2) explore the factors that hinder the implementation of vaccination in the elderly in Indonesia. The research method used is qualitative using a phenomenological study where researchers try to fully understand what is perceived regarding the Covid-19 vaccination for the elderly and its impact and how the vaccine becomes a hope and the challenges faced in the process of realizing this process. The subjects of this study were the elderly (aged 60 years and above) both those who had been vaccinated and those who had never or refused the vaccine. Data analysis was carried out using the stages of horizontalization, bracketing, reduction, initial coding, themes, labelling and intentionality. The initial conclusion in this study is that the Covid-19 vaccine in the elderly is still perceived negatively by individuals because the impact after the vaccine is felt by the elderly is quite severe and varied. And some subjects refused the vaccine because it was considered dangerous and there was no trust in safety after the vaccine was given. In addition, several factors inhibiting the vaccination process in the elderly are due to the lack of access to appropriate information, refusal from elderly family members (children, relatives, etc.), and the lack of socialization, assistance and approach to the elderly by health workers.