Head Of West Sumatra Police, Chief Of Police Sigit Questions Children's COVID Vaccination Why Only Touch 6.19 Percent

West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Teddy Minahasa Putra answers the question of National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo (Via ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo questioned the cause of the low percentage of vaccination achievements for children aged 6-11 years in West Sumatra (West Sumatra). Currently, the vaccination rate in West Sumatra has only reached 6.19 percent or 34,954 children.

"What are the obstacles faced so that the percentage of childhood vaccines is still low in West Sumatra," asked the National Police Chief Sigit at the launch of online child vaccination with the West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Teddy Minahasa Putra in Padang, as reported by Antara, Thursday, February 3.

The National Police Chief Sigit also questioned whether there were any obstacles from parents who did not allow their children to be vaccinated.

West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Teddy Minahasa Putra said the obstacle faced was the lack of vaccine distribution, causing the number of child vaccinations in this province to remain low.

He said that currently the total number of children aged 6-11 years in West Sumatra is 587,479 people, while the data at the Education Office is 564,833 children.

"There are children who have dropped out of school who are not recorded in the Education Office, but they are obliged to carry out vaccinations," he said.

According to him, currently the vaccine is available in West Sumatra and is ready to be given to children to increase vaccination achievements in the province of West Sumatra. "We will hold a child vaccination sumdarsin competition to increase achievement," he said.

While regarding parents who do not allow their children to be vaccinated, he assesses that the number is not large because the vaccine is good for their children.

"I'm not sure there are parents who forbid their children to be vaccinated because all parents want their children to be healthy," he said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of West Sumatra, Audy Djoinaldy, admitted that the percentage of children being vaccinated was still low.

However, vaccination for the elderly in West Sumatra is ranked third nationally, reaching 87.14 percent or 426,605 people from the total elderly in West Sumatra as many as 489,833 people. "We will try to pursue this achievement," he said.