Actual

What's happening in PresUniv


Published: 08 Sep 2021

The spread of Covid-19 is still happening in Indonesia. Everyone must work together to prevent the spread of this virus. It was conveyed by Drs. Antonius Suhartomo, M.Eng.Sc., M.M., Ph.D., Head of Electrical Engineering Study Program, President University (PresUniv), in the “Why do We Must be Vaccinated” webinar. This webinar, held by the President University Major Association (PUMA) Electrical Engineering, Saturday (21/8), was attended by 393 participants. The topic being discussed was the Covid-19 vaccination program from a psychological point of view. The speaker whom PUMA Electrical Engineering PresUniv invited was Dr. Zulvia Oktanida Syarif, Sp.KJ, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Tarakan Regional Public Hospital.

In her material, Zulvia appreciated Electrical Engineering students for addressing the vaccination program with a different perspective. According to her, this is not the time to discuss the vaccine, its types, and benefits, because there is already a lot of information about it. That is why Zulvia discussed about why there are still people who refuse vaccines. She found that the method used, such as repeated explanations followed by evidence and clarification, was not quite suitable. “For an open-minded person, this method might work very well. However, for anti-vaccine people, it is not effective," she said. Citing from research, anti-vaccine people actually do not lack of information. "They spend a lot of time looking for info about vaccinations on the internet," said Zulvia.

She then described four reasons why people refuse to get vaccinated, which are the lots of conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 vaccine, disgust or phobia of hospitals/blood/injecting needles, refusing because they feel threatened or might lose their freedom, and the influence of the ideology of individualism adopted by some people. “People with this ideology believe their life belongs to them, not the government. So, they feel that they have the right to decide their own lives, including accepting or refusing the Covid-19 vaccination," she explained. (Steven Chaniago, PR team. Photo: Steven)