For Months The COVID-19 Vaccine For Disadvantaged Children, Ministry Of Health: Still Waiting For Domestic Production

Illustration of the COVID-19 vaccine for boosters. (Antarananews)

JAKARTA - Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi responded to the empty stock of COVID-19 vaccines for vaccinations for children aged 6-11 years in Indonesia.

Nadia admitted that the stock of Sinovac vaccines designated as vaccines for children aged 6-11 years had run out since a few months ago. Now, the government is still waiting for a new vaccine produced by PT Bio Farma to continue vaccinating children 6-11 years old.

"We are still waiting for domestic production to be used immediately," said Nadia in a short message, Monday, January 2.

Currently, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has granted permission for the COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 11 years old using Pfizer. Pfizer's stock in Indonesia is also still declared sufficient.

However, the Ministry of Health has not issued a decree to local governments to use vaccines other than the Sinovac type to children 6-11 years old.

"We are still waiting for recommendations from WHO and studies from ITAGI (Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization) and IDAI (Indonesian Pediatrician Association) to use Pfizer at the age of over 6 years," said Nadia.

In general, based on the results of the survey series, Indonesia's population immunity as of July 2022 touched 98.5 percent. This community immunity coverage increased from December 2021 which touched 87.8 percent.

As long as COVID-19 still exists, the group most at risk of contracting the corona virus is people aged 18 years and over, especially the elderly.

"This group (18 years and over) must be pursued first (vaccination) because of its higher mobility. So, this must now be pursued while waiting for the availability of vaccines for children," explained Nadia.

For information, vaccination of children aged 6-11 years has started since December 14, 2021. Until now, the Ministry of Health is still setting two types of vaccines for children aged 6-11 years, namely Sinovac and Bio Farma's COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccination for children 6-11 years old is given 2 times with an interval of at least 28 days through an intramuscular injection in the arm with a dose of 0.5 milliliters.

The target of vaccination for 6-11 years in Indonesia is 26.4 million people. As of January 1, 2023, the achievement of the first dose of vaccination for children aged 6-11 years was 82.21 percent, the second dose was 66.74 percent, and the third dose was 0.01 percent.