JAKARTA (UCAN): Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke, Indonesia, said that people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are sinners for endangering other people.
“Let’s not say that I don’t need to be vaccinated. If you don’t want to be vaccinated, you are actually a sinner because you will become a source of the disease for other people,” Archbishop Mandagi said during a Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in West Olilit, Maluku, on September 22.
The archbishop, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Amboina, was himself struck down by Covid-19 in January. He invited people to think about the impact of the coronavirus, which has killed millions of people worldwide.
“If we are not careful, everyone will die from Covid-19,” the archbishop said and urged the people to think about their health and the health of others, including telling smokers to stop so that they do not fall victim to the virus.
The archbishop’s comments came amid reports that many people are still refusing to be vaccinated in Indonesia.
On September 16, West Papua province returned 877 vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Health Ministry because many refused to be vaccinated.
A survey by pollster National Survey Media released on September 9 found that 45.7 per cent of Indonesians are still reluctant to get vaccinated with the highest number being in eastern Indonesia including Papua.
A survey in August by Indonesian Political Indicators showed 56.9 per cent were unwilling to get vaccinated.
The majority in both surveys were worried about the vaccine’s side effects.
In Papua, Father John Djonga said that encouragement from religious figures was important to make communities realise the importance of receiving the vaccine.
“In the context of Papua, there is a long-standing mistrust among Papuans regarding the government, so vaccines are viewed with suspicion, especially when vaccination distribution involves the security forces,” Father Djonga said.
“We have conveyed this directly to the government and urged that vaccination drives only involve medical people,” he added.
Indonesia is looking to vaccinate at least 208 million people. As of September 21, about 38 per cent of that target had received a first dose and 21.7 per cent had been fully vaccinated, according to government figures.
