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Indonesia Makes Polio Progress

Indonesia`s nationwide drive last week to vaccinate about 24 million children against a spreading polio outbreak achieved most of its goal, but some parents continued to resist because of safety concerns, health officials said Monday.

The Indonesian Health Ministry reported that the campaign had reached 90 percent of children younger than 5 years old, despite lingering concerns among parents and medical workers about the safety of the vaccine.

After Indonesia carried out a regional immunization drive earlier this year on the western end of Java island, local news media reported that the vaccine had sickened several children, killing four. Health officials stressed that the vaccine was safe, even for ill children, but many parents vowed to keep their children from participating in the nationwide drive last Tuesday.