Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Government simultaneously kicked off COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 611 in three provinces with high vaccination coverage on Tuesday.
"We start the vaccination program with a target of around 26.5 million children," Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono said while inaugurating the program at East Cempaka Putih 3 Public Elementary School (SDN), Jakarta.
The school has set a target of vaccinating 175 students, he noted.
Besides the school, vaccinations were also conducted at SDN 1 Depok in Depok City, West Java Province, and SDN 03 Rawa Buntu in South Tangerang City, Banten Province, he noted. The vaccination programs targeted 400 and 600 students, respectively, he said.
The vaccination program for children will be carried out in stages, the deputy minister added.
In the first stage, it will be implemented in provinces and cities/districts where first dose coverage has reached 70 percent and the vaccination coverage among the elderly has crossed 60 percent, he said.
According to the Health Ministry, there are around 8.9 million children from 115 cities/districts in 19 provinces who are eligible for vaccinations.
The provinces comprise Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Jambi, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Bangka Belitung Islands, Riau Islands, Lampung, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra.
Harbuwono said that the implementation of vaccinations is based on a recommendation made by the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) through Letter Number 166/ITAGI/Adm/XII/2021 dated December 9, 2021 concerning the study on COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 611 years old.
In addition, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin signed a Ministerial Decree (Number HK.01.07/MENKES/6688/2021) on the Implementation of the COVID-19 Vaccination for Children Age 611 Years on December 13, 2021.
The Sinovac vaccine has been approved for the program since it has obtained emergency-use authorization (EUA) from the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM), Harbuwono said. Other kinds of vaccines will also be used once they are approved by the agency, he added.
Before getting vaccinated, recipients will have to undergo a standard health screening, he said. The interval between the administration of the first and second dose of the Sinovac vaccine is 28 days, he added.
A total of 58.7 million doses of the vaccine will be required for the program, he said. Currently, the ministry has prepared 6.4 million doses for December 2021, he informed. Additional stocks will be prepared in January 2022, he said.
According to the deputy minister, the Sinovac vaccine has a small risk of adverse events following immunization (AEFI), thus it can be used for children.
"Several other countries are also conducting child vaccination by using different kinds of vaccines. Perhaps we will also use those vaccines for our children. However, for now, we just use Sinovac," he added. (*)
